Who I am and Those around Me
by Byuu128
Summary: After the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, how will the world and the people that live in it be effected by the events which have been unleashed by the powers that be? Chapter 14 up now. Reviews and Comments welcome. Thank you.
1. Beginning to 2 sub 3

Back to the story: Here is a recap. Chapter 1.2 - The Greatest Rivals!  
  
Naruto and Sasuke will fight. Sasuke will try to kill him,  
and will pull out the Level 2 Curse. Right when he is about to kill him,  
Naruto will explode with chakra, and will begin to turn into the demon fox.   
This time, he will sprout nine tails, red/orange fur, and will begin to  
resemble a fox more than a boy. Note that somehow the seal is not broken yet  
on Naruto. They will both go for one final assault on each other and unleash  
an enormous amount of energy. This will create an enormous explosion and  
demolish a whole bunch of land. The leaf genins will notice the explosion,  
and  
in Konoha village, people will see a flash of light on the horizon and wonder  
what it is. Someone will mention that it is in the direction where the Genins  
and Shikamaru left, and someone(s) will pray for the safety of the others or  
start thinking about them ( I.E. The Hyuga family, Kiba's family, Shikamaru's  
mother, Sakura for sure, Hinata for sure for Naruto and Neji, and probably   
Gai, Jiraiya, Tsunade). Back where the Genins are, Shikamaru makes the  
decision that they need someone to go see what that was but at the same time  
they need to collect their wounded. Gaara goes on ahead, and what he sees  
confirms the new beliefs that he holds. Naruto and Sasuke are still standing,  
but suddenly Sasuke falls, defeated. He asks Naruto to kill him, and Naruto  
calls him a moron and confesses that he will bring him back to the village   
since he can't kill his friends. He also says he did not completely call the  
Demon Fox for the reason that he didn't want to kill Sasuke. They manage to  
make it back to Konoha with the help of Gaara. At this point, Gaara's opinion  
of Naruto has grown. They get back and will both end up in the hospital for   
awhile...  
  
Chapter 1.3 - Return and the end of a quest   
  
The Leafs and Co. Begin to head back to the village. As they leap through the  
trees, they spot Neji on the ground. He is in extremely bad condition, but  
still alive. Kiba takes out a blood-stopping pill and takes one for him and  
one for Neji. Neji groans, but the bleeding stops and he starts to relax. Kidomaru is   
starting to stir behind then. Temari and Kankuro immediately grab him by the  
neck and question him. He laughs that Sasuke is already with Orochimaru and  
they can't do anything. Kankuro and Temari laugh, say "Oh yeah?" and then  
Kankuro knocks him  
out with some paralysis poison from the puppet. He gets his other one out and  
puts him in the other puppet, saying that they should interrogate this guy.  
Shikamaru agrees, and then decides that they need to go and get Choji. They  
find Choji, and are surprised at the carnage. Lee picks up Choji by the arm  
and states that he is not dead, it is just his body has produced so much   
chakra and expelled it that he will need to rest. They then all head back. As  
they reach the gate, they are joined by Gaara, who has an unconscious and  
bashed Sasuke and a shirtless, almost sad, looking Naruto, both supported by  
Sand Clones. They ask him what happened with the explosion. He said that it  
was a big fight and did not say with whom, only that the fighters (Sasuke's  
Level 2 form and the Naruto-Demon Fox being) are gone. They enter Konoha, and   
immediately people start to stare and shout that the Genins are back. Sakura  
and Tsunade immediately runs up to great them, while others like Hinata and  
the families stay back some. She is shocked to see everyone, especially  
Sasuke and Naruto, battered. She asks what happens, and the only response she  
gets is from Gaara who said that "There were some problems convincing him to   
return (referring to Sasuke), but he fine now". Hinata watches and  
thinks "Naruto-kun..." Shikamaru cuts everyone off stating that they are  
happy to see them, but if they don't hurry, someone will die (he says this  
while sounding like his old self, which makes Temari Chuckle to herself).  
They all then head to the hospital, where the Leaf Team is put in care   
immediately. Kidomaru is taken to the hospital escorted by 3 ANBU captains.  
  
Chapter 2.1 - Far away  
  
Everyone is currently in the hospital. In the Lobby, Sakura loudly berates a   
worker for not letting her in to see the others. The worker says that the  
patients are still too damaged to see anyone. Sakura yells that it has been 2  
days since they returned, so why can't she see Naruto or anyone else. The  
worker says that she may see the others, but not Sasuke or Naruto. Hinata  
shows up and timidly asks if she could see Naruto. Sakura notices that she  
has a geranium (flower of determination) in her hand and asks if that is for  
Naruto. Hinata blushes a furious red, and says yes. Sakura is surprised, and  
tells her that the flower suites her. Hinata looks up at Sakura in surprise  
and says thank-you. The worker then tells them that they still can't see  
Sasuke or Naruto. He then says, "Physically, those two have recovered and  
their internal structures are fine. However, they can get no response from   
them mentally. This is the best way to put it...(Pan to shot of a shocked  
Sakura and Hinata) It's like they are here, yet there minds are lost in  
another world. (Pan to picture of Naruto and Sasuke in separate rooms lying  
in a bed with their eyes open, but glazed as if in far-off thought.  
  
Chapter 2.2 - Neji's achievements  
  
Three days later....  
  
Neji is dreaming in his mind. He remembers the words that Naruto spoke to him  
during the Chuunin exam and the fight he had between him and Kidomaru. He   
then thinks or his father and family, smiles that his father had been right  
before, and then he thinks of all his friends, and how everyone is strong and  
they respect him. He hears a voice that he thinks is his father telling him  
to awaken to the light. He opens his eyes to find Hiyashi Hyuga standing  
over, smiling and asking if he is okay. Hinata and Hinabi are with him as  
well. He says that he is fine and sits up. He winces slightly and looks at  
the points where the arrows pierced him. The holes are gone, but there is a  
scar in place. Hiyashi said that he had been out for five days and they were  
extremely worried about him. He then takes a box out of his robes and says  
that Neji desires this now since he has proved himself beyond anything else.  
Neji opens it and finds his father's headband and a note saying that if he  
got this, he would have excelled beyond anything he had hoped. Neji is  
overcome with emotion. Hiyashi says that he needs to return to the Hyuga house   
when he is completely ready. He ends the sentence with the address  
of "beloved nephew", smiles and leaves. Hinabi follows him, and Hinata asks  
him if he is fine. He says he is fine and thanks Hinata for her concern. She  
smiles. He suddenly remembers the mission and asks if they got Sasuke back.  
Hinata says they did. Neji asks why she suddenly looks so sad. She says that   
Naruto-kun was badly hurt and seems to have suffered some mental damage and  
will not come "to this world". Neji looks down thoughtfully. He then says  
that if anyone can return, it is him. Hinata looks up, and agrees with him  
with a smile and a prayer.  
  
Chapter 2.3 and more to come next time!  
Choji's new strength, Shikamaru's new purpose in life, Kiba's determination,   
the Sands new conviction, and the terrible secret behind the condition of the  
rivals!


	2. Chapter 2 sub 4 and 2 sub 5

Chapter 2.4 - The Conviction of the Sand's  
  
In a separate room on the same floor of the lobby, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara  
are sitting around. Temari asks if those guys will ever awake. Gaara mentions  
that the nurse said that all but two are awake and up. Kankuro asks whom, and  
then asks a passing medic. He hears that Naruto and Sasuke are still out, and  
when he returns to his siblings, wonders aloud why the strong ones are still  
out. Gaara says that they are probably sorting things out. Temari asks him  
what he means. Gaara then goes to explain the fight between them and what he  
saw. He said that at the time of the explosion, he felt the forces of Sasuke   
and Naruto, only that both felt different. Sasuke's, he said, had the feel of  
the taint of Orochimaru like Kimimaru had, and that Naruto had the same force  
he had last time, only that it was much more powerful and malevolent. He felt  
a second force like a demon within him this time, and caught a glimpse of  
Naruto's slit eyes and said he felt ultimate fear. He also was amazed a  
Sasuke's eyes, which he said, "Showed a sharingan I had never seen." Kankuro  
and Temari are confused and shocked at this time. Temari breaks the silent by  
asking if Naruto has something similar to what Gaara has. Gaara replies that  
he does, and yet he doesn't. A shinobi comes in informing them that the fifth  
Hokage wishes to see them in a conference room on the fifth floor. The shinobi   
leaves. They get up, Kankuro suddenly asks Gaara if the change in him was  
brought on by Naruto. He says yes, that he made him realize that to be truly  
strong is to protect the ones that you hold precious, and he, Naruto, had  
shown him once again that that was the true way to be strong, since in his  
anger and that final attack, he could have killed Sasuke, yet he continuously  
refused, since he was someone precious to him. They leave, with Kankuro and   
Temari thinking that they begin to understand Gaara a little.   
  
Chapter 2.5 - Kiba's Determination  
  
In his room, Kiba is bored stiff. He had finally been able to move after three  
days, and he was wondering what he was going to do. A medic comes end and   
tells him that he is going to be having a visitor that will be staying with  
him. Kiba groans, thinking that it is his sister coming to fuss over him. He  
is surprised then when someone brings in Akamaru and his entire family. He is  
completely overjoyed to see everyone. His father says that he is glad that he  
recovered, though he lost a lot of blood and Akamaru had almost died. Akamaru   
is fine now and barks happily at seeing Kiba. Kiba tells Akamaru that he is  
glad to see him. His sister, though, cuts him off saying that she learned from  
the others that they had used "that" form, and asked how it was possible he  
lost. Kiba told them that the enemy had the ability to deconstruct themselves  
and vice versa. He said that his priority then was to get him and Akamaru to   
safety. That was when the sands came in. Kiba's father tells him that he is  
finally growing up, and they leaving telling him that his father will teach  
him something new when he gets out since he put himself on the line for his  
friend. Kiba smiles and lies back down, thinking that he has finally gotten  
his father's notice and sister's approval.  
  
That is all for now. Check back when we go with the elders and the Hokage as  
Naruto and Sasuke's condition is fully revealed


	3. Chapter 2 sub 6

Chapter 2.6 - The Terrible Condition of the Rivals.  
  
In the offices of the Hokage, a conference is being held. Tsunade, Jiraiya,  
the Leaf Elders, Kakashi, some representatives of the Sand, and Gaara are at  
a table. Tsunade opens the meeting with an extension of thanks and gratitude  
to the Sand for the help that they gave them on the last mission. The Sand  
Elders thank her, and state that since Orochimaru's betrayal, they have kept  
fast in securing a military alliance with the Leafs. Tsunade again thanks  
them. Gaara interupts by asking what will Orochimaru do now that his plan has  
failed. Jiraiya says that since he found the Sand turned and his own villages  
forces decimated, he will now probably turn to the Cloud Country or the Rock  
Country for help. One of the Elders speaks up saying that the Cloud Country  
will probably be more likely to help the Leaf Country since they have more  
outstanding grievances with the Leafs. At the same time though, the Elder  
continued, the Rock Country has more outstanding grievances with the Sand, so  
they will need to keep an eye on both. Tsunade speaks up by saying that the  
ANBU are in both countries right now trying to figure out what is going on.  
She says right now they need to make sure Orochimaru stays isolated. At this  
point, Anko comes in saying that Orochimaru will not be trying anything soon.  
Tsunade looks up and asks why. She says that she just had a look at Sasuke,  
and that his curse seal was going all across and receding across his body,  
which meant only one thing, Orochimaru was trying to reestablish his  
connection to Sasuke, since it seems to have been severed somehow. Jiraiya  
remarks that it was probably Naruto's doing. Gaara speaks up again and asks  
just what is wrong with Naruto. She says that at first he seemed to be in a  
state similar to Kakashi when she got here. Both Kakashi and Jiraiya froze  
up, and Jiraiya asks if it was possible the Mangekyou Sharingan was  
activated. Kakashi says he has no clue happened, but that it seems  
that Naruto is down and the Demon Fox is attempting to gain control, since it  
seems that Naruto's eyes keep switching from normal to slited pupils. He  
said that it is doubtful that he will escape since he is surrounded by demon  
control jutsus and the seal on him was recently reinforced. Gaara takes this  
information in and asks to go see Naruto. Kakashi and Tsunade agree, and  
Jiraiya accompanies him out of the room.

All for this time. Next part will start with what is going on in Sasuke's head, and then there will be chapters dealing with Naruto. Reviews, comments are appreciated. Thank you all

This is just a fanfic, not official Naruto writing.


	4. Chapter 2 sub 7

Chapter 2.7 - Conquering within  
  
Sasuke is delusional. He wakes up in his dream world in a place with a path.  
At one are his brother and Orochimaru, who offer him great power but demand a  
part of him. At the other is the path to the village of Konoha. He is unsure  
about which path to take, since he knows he can be strong but since Naruto  
just beat him and lives in the village, he could go there and get be an  
eternal rival. Then behind him, a voice speaks out. He turns around to find  
his younger self, telling him to go forward to the path of true power...then  
he is interrupted by a young blond haired boy, who yells at him that he is a  
fake and should stay true to himself. Young Sasuke yells at him to shut up,  
and the other boy smacks him in the face, revealing that the younger Sasuke  
is an Orochimaru in disguise. The two of them fight on while Sasuke looks at  
revulsion at his younger self. In the lobby of the hospital, Sakura has  
reluctantly enlisted the help of Ino to go and sneak into Sasuke's room. They  
get on the shoulders of the other in a back room and put on a medical  
uniform. They are practicing walking like this when Hinata comes in and asks  
what they are doing. Sakura and Ino yell in surprise and fall down. Ino takes  
in breath to yell, but Sakura and Hinata start to laugh and what they are all  
about to do. They then all laugh. They put on the uniform again and Hinata  
hides under a stretcher. With the stretcher in tow, the three enter the  
back...

This is not official Naruto writing, just a fanfic.

The last chapter and this one were real short, so I am going to release them together. Enjoy! Next one will deal with Naruto. Comments and Reviews are welcome


	5. Chapter 2 sub 8

--Chapter 2.8 – Not dominance, but co-existence!  
  
As the Leaf females split ways, Jiraiya and Gaara are walking down a  
hallway.  
Jiraiya looks at Gaara curiously, and asks why he had such a sudden interest  
in wanting to see Naruto. Gaara stops in the hallway, looks up, and says, "I  
think I can help him. Maybe Uchiha Sasuke too." Jiraiya asks why he thinks  
that anything can do anything that could help, and if he can, what? Gaara  
states that what Naruto is probably experiencing now is probably similar to  
something that happened a lot to him as a child. He said that at that time,  
the Sand Demon tried often to take over him, and finally, he learned to  
co-exist with the demon, instead of either trying to control the other. Gaara  
says that right now, Naruto and the Demon within him are fighting for control  
of the other. Jiraiya looks worried for a while, and then tells Gaara that he  
trusts him to do the right thing to help, since right now he can't do anything  
for Naruto, and he made a sacred vow to someone he holds dear to protect  
Naruto as he was growing up. Gaara is intrigued, and asks who that was.  
Jiraiya doesn't say much, but just says that he swore an oath to Naruto's  
father. Gaara asks for his name, but Jiraiya remains silent with a stricken  
look on his face. Gaara looks down, and then suddenly asks out loud, "Why  
don't you come out of there?" Jiraiya looks puzzled at Gaara. Suddenly, the  
closet door next to them opens up and supplies falls out, along with a very  
surprised and shocked Hinata. Both Jiraiya and Gaara look surprised, and  
Hinata, recognizing Gaara, gets fearful from being discovered and recognizing  
who Gaara is. Gaara looks at the geranium she has and asks if she is going to  
see someone. She meekly says yes, and he asks if it is Uzumaki Naruto. She  
looks up, surprised, and answers yes. Gaara says that they (him and Jiraiya)  
are also going to see Naruto, and since she is a good friend of Naruto, she  
should come with them, since they are going to bring Naruto back. She is  
surprised and asks what is wrong with Naruto-kun? Gaara answers that since  
Sasuke tried to kill him, he has lost the will to stay in this world, and if  
she came, they would have a better chance at bringing him back. With that  
said, Hinata blushes and says she didn't think she could make that much of a  
difference. Gaara smiles a genuine sincere smile and tells her that she can.  
All the while Jiraiya is confused at the exchange of words between them. They  
then all head down the hall some more.  
In Naruto's head, he is dreaming that he is in a forest. It seems to be  
quiet, then all of the sudden, a loud roar is heard, followed by the  
calls of many people. He hurries toward the noise, and finds that the demon  
fox is attacking the village. He goes to asks someone what is going on and  
where is the fifth Hokage, but he then realizes that he is in a memory of the  
past when everyone ignores him and run about yelling that the Demon has come  
and they must wait for the Fourth to come. He guesses that he is in a memory  
of the Demon Fox, trapped in his head somehow. Yet, when he sees the Demon  
Fox, he gets the idea that it can see him, and that it is also trapped within  
the memory. Naruto watches the men go and goes to join them. They get to  
outside the village to confront the demon, and everyone but Naruto is killed  
in a flash. With just him and the Demon, they face off and look at each  
other, and then the Demon Fox says, "One of us". Naruto asks him what the hell he  
means. The Fox explains that only one of them can dominate, so they must  
fight to see whom, since that person will be able to escape the nightmare and  
return to the real world. Naruto looks around and hopes that someone will  
come, but he can think of nobody, since Sasuke, his best friend, had tried to  
kill him. The Demon charges, and Naruto barely gets out of his way in time.  
The fox turns quickly and unleashes a blast of Chakra, which sends Naruto  
flying into a building in the village. He is hurt bad, but he runs and hides  
in a building while the fox tries to find him. He is panting when he hears  
people yelling to get the children to safety. He looks in that direction to  
see the Hyuga's rushing a newborn boy to an underground shelter. Following  
them is someone he takes a guess is Choji's father taking his newborn with  
them. He then sees a baby with pink hair and is shocked at how upset she is.  
He hears one of the people yell that the Hyuga heir is late and trapped in a  
fallen building. Naruto rushes to the building and finds a newborn girl  
crying in the hands of a female Hyuga. He summons a lot of chakra, makes a  
rasengan, and blasts away the part of the building over them. He tells them  
to leave, and the lady thanks him and leaves, while asking whom he is. Before  
he can answer, she runs away screaming. He turns around and notices the Fox  
has gotten in the village. He runs, wondering how that lady was able to see  
him. He then notices that he is bleeding, and it hurts. He then sees a man  
with spiked yellow hair talking to the elders. In his hand is a newborn with  
yellow hair. Naruto is shocked to learn that it is himself. He starts to think if  
this is really a dream when he hears the Hokage says that he must fight the  
Demon, even if it means losing his life, since the Hokage is one the protects  
all. With those words and thinking about all the people in the village, he  
gains his resolve to go and confront the Demon. He goes out to a tall tree  
outside the village and yells for the fox. It turns and bounds over, stopping  
about 100 meters from Naruto. The fox asks if he has the resolve now, and  
Naruto defiantly says he does. They launch at each other, and Naruto falls to  
the ground, badly hurt, and struggles to get up. The Demon leers at him,  
saying that he will dominate, and not you brat. Naruto looks back defiantly,  
and thinks that there must be someway to convince the fox to co-exist, since  
that would be the best way for all.  
Meanwhile, Gaara, Hinata, and Jiraiya have made it to Naruto room. They  
notice that his eyes are closed, but his body is thrashing around out of  
control. They grab him and hold him down, while Hinata yells for Naruto-kun  
to come.  
In his mind, as the Fox charges at him, Naruto hears Hinata calling for  
him. He is shocked at first, and then tightens his resolve, and gets a new  
idea. As the Fox nears, he concentrates Charka, forms the Rasengan, and makes  
it 2x bigger and slams it into the fox's face. They fly backward with the  
huge explosion. Upon hitting the ground, Naruto immediately gets up and runs  
at the now fallen Demon Fox. He prepares another Rasengan to finish the Fox,  
but the Fox just smiles, and tells Naruto he passed the test. Naruto stops  
concentrating and looks confused. The Demon Fox then turns into a younger  
Naruto, and says he wants to see if they can co-exist. With that, he turns  
into a red fire and it wraps itself around Naruto and vanishes. With that,  
the world around him dissolves into blackness and he hears the fox telling  
him to wake up.  
  
Next time - Chapter 2.9 - My way, and reunions.  
Sasuke confronts himself, and the Genins have a joyous reunion of sorts.


	6. Chapter 2 sub 9

Chapter 2.9 - My way, together again.  
  
Sasuke watches, horrified, as his two selves fight on. As they do, he  
sees memories flash up in his mind. Orochimaru giving him the curse seal,  
Naruto competing with him at climbing trees, his brother telling him about  
himself, Naruto and Sakura worrying over him during the exam, his first fight  
with Naruto, his conversation with Kakashi, the Four Sounds talking to him,  
his last conversation with Sakura, what he felt knocked out lying in the  
darkness, and Naruto's determination to bring him back "to the Light". At once  
these memories begin to swirl around his head even faster. He begins to get  
confused and starts to shake out of control. Blackness starts to consume him.  
In the back, the small Orochimaru-Sasuke starts to gain the upper hand over  
his other self, but both cry out for his support in the swirling memories.  
Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino (still in the disguise of a medic) have found  
the door to Sasuke's room. Ino squeals excited that this is it, and Sakura  
grumbles to open the door quickly before she breaks her back. They open the  
door and close it. Sakura immediate sits back and Ino falls on her, tumbling  
out of the uniform. Ino yells at Sakura for being clumsy (with the white eyes  
of rage) and Sakura yells at Ino for being too heavy to carry for a long  
period of time (with the same white eyes of rage). A sudden moan and movement  
distracts both of them. Sasuke is trembling out of control on the bed, with  
the curse seal advancing and receding across his body. They both hurry over to  
him and hold him down. Sasuke starts to moan and the curse seal starts to  
spread across his body again. Sakura yells for "Sasuke-chan" to come back, and  
then angrily states that Sasuke should have told her that he wanted to  
get stronger than his brother. If that was the case, she yells, he should have  
stayed and asked to train with someone. Look at Naruto, she says, softer now.  
He had plenty of training under others and he has gotten strong. Sasuke-chan  
should have stayed, she said crying, if he really wanted to get stronger,  
since she believes that true strength comes from dangerous missions with  
friends and from inspiration from your friends.  
Back in his nightmare, Sasuke hears Sakura's words and is shocked by the  
anger and pain in her voice. He yells for everyone to stop!  
In Sasuke's room, Sasuke suddenly stops trembling and the curse seal  
recedes away. Ino looks at Sakura in amazement and asks what she did. Sakura  
said she is not sure what she did, but she thinks she helped Sasuke regain  
faith in himself.  
The two Sasuke's in his mind stop fighting and look at him in amazement.  
Sasuke comes over to them and smiles a confident smile. He tells them that  
from now on, he will get strong by himself and with help from those he finds  
important, so, looking at the Orochimaru self, he will not need HIM anymore.  
With that, the Orochimaru self suddenly bursts into flames, and his other self  
turns into a white light that spreads around his mind. With that, Sasuke hears  
the voices of Ino and Sakura and follows the sound of their voices, waking  
from his nightmare.  
In Naruto's room, he opens his eyes to find that Hinata, Gaara, and  
Jiraiya are standing around him smiling. Jiraiya runs to the door and shouts  
that Naruto has woken up. Naruto then calls him a kid. He then asks how he got  
here in the hospital and if everyone else is okay. Gaara answers that he was  
carried here by friends and that his quest companions are all okay. Gaara then  
smiles sincerely and asks how he is. Naruto replies that he is fine since now  
that the "nightmare" he experienced is gone. Naruto then notices Hinata (Oh!)  
and smiles, thanking her for her concern and hoping he didn't worry her too  
much. Hinata blushes a furious red, says that he didn't, and gives him the  
geranium. She says that in the language of flowers, the geranium means  
determination. Naruto looks surprised, then smiles a smile of deep peace, and  
tells her "Arigato...Hinata-san" With that, Hinata looks surprised and pleased  
at the same time and her entire face turns red. Gaara smiles. The moment is  
ruined completely when Jiraiya comes back in and tells them that such behavior  
is not allowed in the hospital. Naruto then looks like someone slugged him,  
then yells that "you have no room to talk pervert sennin!" This gets the two  
of them in a yelling contest, and while Gaara and Hinata watch with a mix of  
surprise and amusement, Hinata giggles that Naruto seems to be energetic now,  
and Gaara says he has no doubt Naruto will fully recover. The yelling contest  
brings others in, including Tsunade, who is surprised that Naruto is awake.  
They then hear another yell that Sasuke is awake, and if possible he wishes to  
speak to Naruto.  
  
Join us next time for Chapter 3.0 - Friends again and the coming menace.  
Sasuke and Naruto make up, and action begins on how to combat Orochimaru.

Hey everyone! Just a quick note. So far 13 chapters have been written. However, they were written with no regard for spelling, grammar, or punctuation in some parts. Also, 17 hours in college will take a toll. So, releases will be more than once a week and later on only once a week (or as close as possible). Also, thank you for your reviews. They mean much to me and I thank you for reading my stories. 


	7. Chapter 3 sub 0

Chapter 3.0 - Friends again and the rising menace.  
  
Sasuke is following the light that his other self has turned into. As he  
walks, pictures of his parents talking float up into view. They appear to be  
talking about him, but he is not really sure what they are saying. He   
remembers this as a conversation his parents had alone when he was up late.  
He  
can't hear their voices, however. As he walks toward them, they begin to fade  
and he hears the voices of Sakura and Ino calling for him. He calls back,  
saying he is coming, and opens his eyes. He is in a propped up bed, and  
Sakura  
and Ino are directly across from him. When Ino sees that he is awake, she   
yells "Sasuke-chan!!" and nearly jumps on him but stops herself once she sees  
how much pain he is in. Sakura asks him if he is okay. Sasuke doesn't say  
anything, and then asks how long he has been out. Ino replies that he and  
Naruto have been knocked out for some time, and they are the last ones still  
in the intensive care section. Sasuke then says out loud that he saw them.   
Sakura asks who? Sasuke says he saw his parents talking about him in private,  
for the first time, and he can't really remember what they said since in the  
memory he saw he could not hear their voices. Now that he thinks about it,  
however, he doesn't really need to know what they said, since he can take a  
good guess about it know. He remembers now how after he did the Uchiha  
fireball skill for the first time, his father smiled when he had his back   
turned to him. His mother always spoke with pride about him. And his brother,  
for the first time, was so jealous of him that he let him live. He had not  
read about "it" back then, so his parents were proud of him that he was  
becoming strong on his own, and not due to some legend of fate. As he says  
all  
of this, Sasuke smiles a deep smile of peace and a tear falls down his face  
as  
he finally realizes what his parents said of him. He quickly wipes it off,  
toughens up, and then laughs out loud, saying that will not let him down  
and freaking out Ino and Sakura. He then smiles a confident grin and says  
that  
he will get strong his own way, how his parents wanted him to, and beat his   
brother that way. Ino is shocked by what has just happened, but Sakura smiles  
to herself, thinking that the feeling of revenge is beginning to leave Sasuke  
and confident that he will make a recovery. He then surprises them both by  
asking to speak to Naruto if he is up. They both try to downplay such a thing,  
but he insists, saying he will not be satisfied until he has spoken to   
Naruto. They then hear noise that sounds like Naruto and someone else  
yelling.  
Ino runs over there and tells them that Sasuke wishes to speak to Naruto. A  
few minutes later, Ino comes back with the rest of the Genins who went to see  
Naruto and Jiraiya yell at each other (the team, Lee, Tenten), Jiraiya,  
Hinata, and finally, Naruto supported by Gaara. Sasuke is shocked at how badly   
hurt Naruto is, and Naruto, reading his mind, laughs that it can't be all  
that bad. Sasuke looks down and says that he is sorry that he tried to kill  
him. Naruto looks surprised, then laughs, saying that there is nothing much to  
apologize for, since now Sasuke has seen the truth. Sasuke looks up surprised.  
Naruto asks him if they are still best friends, and grinning, Sasuke agrees   
and they hit hands together, while everyone around looks relieved that they  
are friends again. While the genins are celebrating in Sasuke's room, Jiraiya, smiling,  
slips out of the room and quietly makes his way to the Hokage's Office.  
  
A dark room - Somewhere in Orochimaru's place.  
  
A blood-curling scream is heard. Kabuto rushes into a room to find Orochimaru  
standing up straight and slightly shaking. He asks what is wrong. Orochimaru   
says that it is gone. His link to Sasuke-kun is gone. Driven out by a force of  
fire. Kabuto looks puzzled, and then gets shocked as he feels Orochimaru's  
hate rising. "He will pay," Orochimaru says. Kabuto starts sweating in fear.  
"He will!! UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!"  
  
Leaf Village - The Hokage's Office   
  
Tsunade, the Village Elders, and members of the Sand Council are in a meeting.  
They look up as Jiraiya enters, and he announces that both Naruto and Sasuke  
are up. Tsunade says that is good, and asks when will they be able to get back  
out on missions. Jiraiya says that by tomorrow both will want to get moving.   
Kakashi enters at that point, and confirms that Orochimaru's Elite Four and  
the fifth have been eliminated by the Genins. The Leaf Elders says that is  
good, but this time, Orochimaru will turn to another country for aid. The Sand  
said that they already have some spies in the Rock and Cloud Countries.  
Tsunade says that this has been confirmed by the ANBU, who are also out.  
Jiraiya says that there has been some movement on the border with the Sound   
nation. Tsunade then turns to Kakashi, and tells him to begin assembling a  
team to go on a mission into the Sound Country. They will leave in three days....  
  
That's all for now. Check in next time when Naruto and gang get out of the  
hospital and Kakashi starts to assemble the team for the mission.  
Chapter 3.1 - Looking back and forward.


	8. Chapter 3 sub 1

Chapter 3.1 - A New Journey and Initiations. (Woot!!)  
  
Konoha Village - One Day After Naruto and Sasuke swore a pact of friendship.  
  
The neighborhood where Naruto lives. The scene then goes to the window of  
Naruto's flat. Then the inside appears as Naruto is sleeping. Suddenly, the  
sun starts to shine through his window as his alarm rings. He turns it off  
and listens. Birds are chirping and he begins to hear the sound of people  
below. With a big yawn, he sits up and gets out of bed. After a shower, he  
eats breakfast and dresses in street clothes. Looking around his room, he  
decides that to celebrate his getting out of the hospital, he needs to do  
something different before going to train. He lands on the idea of cleaning  
his flat (visualization of him taking trash and throwing out of window). As  
he goes through the things on the floor, he comes across some odd looking  
scrolls that he has never practiced with before. On a closer look, he finds  
that the one of the scrolls is a hyper-speed technique and the other an  
assortment of Electric jutsu's. He wonders where these came from, and then  
notices a seal on them which symbolizes fire and a leaf. He recognizes it as  
some family seal but of whose, he can't guess. He decides to take them with  
him and try them out when goes and trains today. After cleaning his flat from  
top to bottom (literally throwing things out of the window and upsetting  
people in the street below) Naruto runs off to do some training.  
  
About 20 minutes later, Kakashi knocks on Naruto's door from the outside and  
finds that the door is open. He enters, and is a bit put out by the cleanness  
of Naruto's flat and the realization that that is where the stuff in the  
street came from. Not seeing Naruto, he guesses that Naruto went to train and  
will look for him in a while. As he leaves, however, he notices a scroll on  
the ground that bears the fire and leaf symbol, and to himself, he wonders if  
Naruto has discovered the full meaning of that symbol yet.  
  
In a part of the training grounds, Sasuke is practicing shuiken throwing.  
Facing pictures of a body outline on trees, he tenses up. In his right hand  
are 10 shurikens, and the other, a metal stopwatch. Pressing the start button  
and running around the tree, he releases the shurikens at 10 different  
targets. When he gets them all, he instantly hits the stop button and checks  
it. His face lifts, seeing that he got it down in 2 seconds faster. Good, he  
says. My time is down to 2.5 seconds. I'll take a break now.  
  
Kakashi is currently walking through town. He comes upon Sakura and greets  
her. She is elated to see him and asks why he is here. He replies that there  
will be a mission for team 7 along with the other Genin teams soon, so he  
needs to gather them to tell them about the mission. Sakura offers to look for  
Sasuke, but Kakashi says they will both go. They head to the forest and arrive  
on Sasuke, who is punching one of the training logs. His hand is bandaged and  
he goes forward quickly, punches, and falls back. Kakshi asks what he is  
doing. Sasuke replies that he got an inspiration for a new technique. kakashi  
asks if that is why he is punching the log multiple times. Sakura looks at  
Kakshi confused, and says that Sasuke only punched it once. Sasuke says that  
he did indeed punch multiple times, and he is attempting to create a  
shockwave. He almost has it down, but it is not perfect yet. Kakashi tells him  
they need to get the team. Sasuke gets up, and then they all go to look for  
Naruto.  
  
Kakashi and gang come upon an open field where Naruto is sitting on the  
ground with a scroll open next to him and watching leaves fall. Kakashi asks  
what he is doing, and Naruto answers that he is improving his concentration.  
In his mind, Kakashi swears for a second he saw the air around Naruto vibrate,  
but when Naruto gets up and walks toward them, he dismisses that. Naruto asks  
them what's up, and Kakashi says he has gathered them all here to discuss the  
next upcoming mission. They gather around Kakashi, and he announces that for  
the next mission, they will not be working together in a team. The others are  
shocked, and Sasuke demands to know why. Kakashi said that this is the  
decision of the elders, and, pulling a number of folded sheets out, announces  
that the sheets tell who will be with who and under who's command. Sasuke  
opens his sheet, and shows Kakashi questioningly. Kakashi says that for  
example, he will lead a team of Sasuke, Lee, and Shino. Each of the Shinobi in  
this group specializes in adapting to the opponent and his moves and will carry  
out a certain submission within the general mission. Sakura opens up to find  
that she is in a group of her, Ino, and Shikamaru all being led by Kurenai.  
Kakashi states that they will probably do a spying mission, since each shinobi  
has the ability and the brains for it. Naruto opens his, and with utter  
disbelief, lets it fall to the ground. The sheet says to report to the ANBU in  
the shinobi building. Kakashi smiles and says that Naruto seems to have a  
mission full of pain, since ANBU training does not show mercy to those that  
enter it...  
  
With that said, Kakashi tells them to report to the Administrative building  
tomorrow to be debriefed. They leave in two days...  
  
That is all for now!! Tune in for 3.2 when the Shinobi get the teams and the  
missions together. Also, Sasuke and Naruto's new techniques reveled!!

Ahh. It feels great to have a new story up. This one will be considerably longer than the duration of Chapter 2, which was essentially the patching up of friendships and teams.

By now, I am sure some of you have figured out that I am a Naruto/Hinata fan. If anyone is still unsure, yes I am.

I will try to release the next one early, but with midterms coming, I will make no promises.

Again, thank you everyone for reading and an extra thank you for those who have reviewed!!o


	9. Chapter 3 sub 2 and 3

Chapter 3.2 - New Teams and New Missions  
  
1:00 a.m.  
  
In the Office of the Hokage, Tsunade is talking with some people. She tells  
them that each knows their mission and whom they will be leading. She then   
excuses the team leaders (the Jounnins). There are, however, some cloaked  
people left, and she tells them that they now have the list of the enlistees.  
What they do with them or how they train them is there matter, but she urges  
them not to forget why they were trained. Now, she says, since we have no real  
"geniuses" left, we must rely on those with the most potential. She then tells   
the Ro and Li Team Captains to go. As they leave, masks are visible for a  
second under the hoods. However, one is left. Tsunade then turns to him and  
asks him to train "him" in the arts that his father left behind. At no point,  
however, will he reveal his identity, as that might jeopardize much. The man   
says he understands and will do his best. With that, he vanishes, and before  
he does a red wolf mask is visible. Alone, Tsunade wonders how much longer  
"it" can remain secret, and what will happen when that secret is revealed.  
  
5:00 a.m.   
  
Naruto is awake in bed. His mind is racing with many thoughts. Foremost are the  
things Kakashi said. He wonders if it really is an honor to be in the ANBU  
training since he will probably not be in the mission that has divided  
everyone. Also, he keeps seeing memories of someone in an ANBU mask, but what  
it means, he can't guess. Thinking, however, makes his head hurt and he then  
wonders back to his meditation watching leaves fall before the others found  
him. He then thinks to himself that the first step of that scroll is down. He  
can now see the seconds quintupled. Now, he needs to get himself to move at  
that realization speed. Then, it will be learned and he can go to kicking some  
butt. Laughing at himself, he falls back asleep.  
  
One hour later, he is rudely awoken by water being poured on his face. He   
angrily reacts, and then sees Kakashi, who tells him to get up since he needs  
to be at the Admin building in 10 minutes. Jumping, Naruto runs to his closet  
to change, all the while yelling at Kakashi-sensei about why he didn't tell  
him yesterday. Kakashi simply states he forgot, resulting in a shoe flying at  
his face, which nearly hits him. Naruto comes out fully dressed with a   
toothbrush in his mouth and says he has no time for breakfast today and that  
he will have to take some food with him. Kakashi says to not bother and throws  
him a bag of rations, which causes Naruto to stop. Kakashi looks at him and  
smiles, saying good luck with the training. Naruto grins and wishes Kakashi  
good luck with the mission, and with that, they part.  
  
Getting on the street, Naruto asks for the time, only to discover he has two  
minutes to make it to the Administrative Building. Yelling in horror, he runs   
off, yelling that he won't make it in time. That gives him and idea, and as he  
runs, he begins to concentrate and everything around him slows....  
  
In the admin building, thirty minutes earlier, Sasuke is in an empty room with  
a post of wood before him (like the training grounds). He leans back, and  
swings his right fist forward. Right before he feels it contact, he puts more   
power in his fist, resulting in a disruption in the air around his fist and  
the log getting blasted in half. Relaxing and smiling to himself, Sasuke  
thinks that he has the technique down, but he will need to improve, since it  
hurts his hand a lot. At that point, however, he hears others entering the  
building and leaves the room. As he exits, he passes Lee, who looks in the  
room and wonders with amazement how Sasuke did so much destruction in such a  
concentrated area.  
  
The time is now 6:10 exact, and Iruka looks up from his watch to see Naruto  
burst into a long room exhausted as everyone turns to see what the commotion  
is. Naruto apologizes for being late, saying he left his house two minutes  
ago. Iruka wonders how that is possible, since it takes at least three to get  
to Naruto's apartment. He puts it off, however, and starts the announcements.  
At this point, the Jounnins come in. Iruka then announces the team specialties  
for each. 1st team - Kakashi leading Sasuke, Lee, and Shino with the specialty  
of enemy combat. 2nd Team - Kurenai leading Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru with  
the specialty of information gathering. Shikamaru grumbles to himself about  
being in the same group with Ino and Sakura on a mission, but doesn't let it  
show. 3rd team - Gai leading Tenten, Kiba, and Neji with a specialty on   
scouting. Kiba thinks that this will get interesting. Neji wonders about the  
last three, Naruto, Hinata, and Choji. Iruka then directs the three groups to  
follow their leaders. After they all left the room, Iruka says that the  
remaining three should prepare themselves. Naruto asks Iruka what the crud he  
means, when he senses enemies falling and immediately the three are attacked   
by cloaked people. They form a ring around the three, who are determined  
(Naruto), shocked (Choji), and slightly scared (Hinata). Once they formed a  
complete ring, they take their hoods off, revealing a variety of masks. The  
three are shocked, and one portion parts and a person in white walks there,  
saying in a woman's voice that they have been chosen to join the ANBU based on   
their abilities. This puts the three Genins in confusion. The woman says to  
just follow them and all will be revealed. The ANBU disappear, with the three  
Genins behind them. As they leave, Iruka hopes they will be all right...  
  
Chapter 3.3 - The Roughest Training Ever!!  
  
Naruto arrives at back at home, thinking about what the ANBU had said. They  
gave him the time of training (two weeks) and outlined what they will do  
(basic, intermediate, and some advanced taijutsu, ninjutsu training with some   
training in genjutsu deflection). They also worked them on drills and gave  
them almost no breaks and hardly any lunch. (He ate a huge dinner at the  
Ramen place that night for energy). He was at first surprised at how Choji  
and Hinata kept up with the ANBU's relentless drilling, and he had to  
struggle a ton to keep up. He needs to report back at 5 tomorrow to  
begin ANBU training. He sits back on his bed in thought, wondering what will  
happen to the three teams that were picked out, and why the three remaining   
genins (him, Hinata, and Choji) weren't picked to go on a mission. Steaming,  
he sets his clock for early and goes to bed, deep in thought.  
  
12 in the afternoon that day. Kakashi team.   
  
The Kakashi team is currently in Kakashi's apartment to hear out what Kakashi  
said. Kakashi said that the people gathered for this team specialize in  
fighting with opponents and adapting to their moves. He then says that there  
mission is to take out the remaining high operatives of Orochimaru.  
Currently, he says, the Four Shinobi's of the Sound Village's gates have been  
taken out, but that does not mean that Orochimaru has other people in his   
service, some which could be even more deadly. Therefore, in two days, they  
will leave for a secret location to train while awaiting reports from scouts  
and spies that are in the other teams. Sasuke then interrupts by asking if  
the other teams are just going to go straight for the Sound Village. Kakashi  
says no. They will also leave in two days for secret locations to train and   
carry out pre-objectives before going to the strike area. Lee then asks is  
there any urgency behind the mission. Kakashi says that time is the essence  
to ensure that Orochimaru does not strike. With said, Kakashi then states  
that if he says anything else, he will have to kill them, so do they  
understand? They say they do. With that, he says to rest for two days and  
meet back at his place then. With that they go. Lee asks the others if they  
have any new moves that they will use during this mission. Sasuke says yes.  
Shino says that he is not at liberty to say so, since he is having some  
difficulty mastering a new move, but he is working on it. Sasuke then asks  
Lee if he has any new moves. Lee says he does, and he almost has it down. If  
he doesn't injure himself first. That puts them all laughing and they call it a day.  
  
12 in the afternoon that day - Kurenai team  
  
Team Kurenai is currently on the roof of the Ninja Admin building, where  
Kurenai is briefing them. She states that they will be taking place in a   
spying mission in the Cloud Country, but beyond that, she can't reveal what  
for and where they will go afterward. She then states, looking at the Chunnin  
and Genins, that this will be an incredibly dangerous mission and stealth is  
a must. Therefore, for the next two days and some, they will do some Genjutsu  
training here and on the way to their meeting area. Shikamaru interrupts   
asking what kind of training exactly will they be doing. Kurenai answers that  
they will be practicing a Genjutsu that puts the victim in a state of  
temporary illusion that a drunk would feel. Ino looks impressed and ready to  
start training, with the thought "I'm going to beat Sakura and take Sasuke  
for good!" Sakura then asks what if the person is a drunk normally. Ino  
tells her to get real and they start to squabble, while Shikamaru shakes his  
head and sighs, "Girls!" Kurenai gets them all to be quiet and stresses the  
teamwork that is necessary for this mission. Also, no one is above others,  
since any competition might result in one-man shows and someone getting  
killed or worse, captured. That gets them all serious. With that being said,   
Kurenai states that training is to start immediately, so head to Practice  
Field 5. The three shinobi think that the others have it good while they  
work, but each makes a silent vow to do their best. (Ino and Sakura: I'll  
triumph over her!!)(Shikamaru: Ah well. This sucks, especially with them two,  
but no turning back now...)  
  
12 that afternoon: Gai's Super Reconnaissance Team! Meeting. (Team not  
actually called this, but Gai likes to think so)  
  
The team in mention is meeting in that exact same area that Gai first got his  
team. He tells them that they are now part of the SUPER RECONNAISSANCE

TEAM! Neji and Tenten look embarrassed and ask their sensei not to

use that kind of name, since the enemy would laugh. Kiba just looks stunned  
in disbelief. He thinks to himself that he is really unlucky to get put with  
this bunch. Getting serious, Gai explains to them that they are the super  
team assembled on order of the Hokage to carry out daring spy missions.  
Beyond that, he can't say what the target is. However, they will need to  
learn a particular ninjutsu that lets the user blend in with their  
surroundings like a chameleon. The genins all look interested now. Gai calls  
it the Chameleon Jutsu, and it will take them two days max to learn.  
Turning to the Genins now (he had been talking to the air) he says that each  
of them are here for their scouting abilities. Kiba is a good forward with  
his vast knowledge of the surrounding land and smile along with Akamaru, Neji  
is an excellent bloodline ability that lets him see behind, and Tenten is the  
best trap maker and destroyer, able to disable any trap with ease. He then  
confesses to them that they are the first to head straight for their  
objective, and time is the essence, so, I will show you the Jutsu now.  
Raising a hand, Gai disappears into thin air. They all looked shocked. Gai   
reappears and explains that this Jutsu lets light pass completely through you  
temporarily, making you seem invisible. Your body will still be solid,  
however. This ability takes concentration, so let's start!!  
The team ends up practicing till late in the night...  
  
That's all!! Stay tune for 3.4 - Meanest Teacher of Konoha!!  
  
Naruto and team get their mentor, and they have it in for the team a world of  
pain!


	10. Chapter 3 sub 4

Chapter 3.4 - The Hardest Teacher  
  
5:00 am in the morning.  
  
An alarm sounds out in Naruto's apartment. He reaches out of bed, turns it   
off, and sits up. He is quite sleepily since he spent a restless night trying  
to sleep while thinking about everyone else. Casting that out of his mind, he  
gets dressed, eats, freshens up, and gets his gear on. He remembers that he  
needs to head for practice field 1, a normally fenced off area where the ANBU  
specifically train (think the Chunnin Exam Practice Area, just without the  
other teams). He leaves his flat and starts to make his way to the practice   
field. As he starts to walk down the street, he gets the weird feeling that  
he is being watched. It is dark everywhere and no one is around, yet he gets  
the feeling of being watched more. He starts to run. As he turns a corner, he  
nearly runs into Hinata and has to direct himself to crash into an adjacent  
building to avoid her. She stumbles after nearly hitting him and they both  
end up on the ground. She looks at him and immediately apologizes; saying   
that she thinks someone is watching and following her. Naruto immediately  
looks at her (his face is slightly squashed from hitting the wall) and asks  
that she feels the same thing. She looks at him surprised and agrees. He says  
that he had the same weird feeling since he left his house. He thinks, then  
looks at her with a determined look and then decides they should stay together   
and hurry to the practice field since that area is open land surrounded by  
trees, and with her Byakugan, they can check all directions for trouble. She  
agrees with a slight smile and asks if she is in the front or back. Naruto  
says he'll take front since the Shadow Clones can cause a diversion if need  
be. They take off from there, but no sooner had they gone one block than they   
almost hit Choji. He asks panically what they are doing. Naruto and Hinata  
look at him funny, and then Hinata asks if he thinks someone is watching and  
following him. Choji stops, lowers his head, and shamefully admits it. At  
that point, Naruto tells him that the same has happened to them and he should  
join them since they are heading for the practice field. Choji asks why they  
need him. Naruto smiles and brightly answers that if they meet any big,   
strong guys, they will need him to deal the final blow. Choji smiles and asks  
where to go. They agree on him in the center to look above, Naruto take the  
front, and Hinata watch their back, all of them with weapons ready. They take  
off again in this weird formation. They are out of the village when a black  
figure moves behind them and vanishes as Hinata cries out the alarm. They  
then see the figure bound ahead of them and vanish over a hill. They run to  
the top of the hill and look down on Practice Field One. The figure is nowhere to be seen, so the trio heads to the logs that are standing in the  
middle of the practice field. No sooner than they reach there then knives fly  
at them from nowhere. They split and go for the source of the knives. All at  
once the man in black appears and splits into three. Each goes after a genin.  
Choji is having a strength contest with one, Hinata a hand-to-hand combat   
fight. Naruto splits into clones and goes after the man, only to fall back  
with just him left. He then concentrates at this point his entire body, and  
time around him is perceived quicker. He charges at the black man, while  
everyone around him seems to be in slow motion. Right before he reaches the  
man, he is knocked when the man suddenly speeds up. For an instant before he  
is knocked out, Naruto swears the man used the same technique.  
  
Naruto wakes up. His entire body stings from using his new technique and his   
head hurts from where the stranger hit him. He looks around. Choji is out on  
the ground looking slightly burnt, and Hinata is tied down to a log. The man  
in black leers over them. All of the sudden, he takes off his black cloak to  
reveal an ANBU captain in armor. He laughs and says he hadn't had such a team  
to train for a while. The others at this point wake up. He points to Hinata  
and says that she has little faith in herself and didn't try to the fullest.  
With that said he releases her by throwing a knife at the ropes. Hinata  
thinks that she lost faith when she saw Naruto-kun fall. The man then looks  
at Choji and says he has no stamina to go with. Choji sighs in despair. BUT!!  
the man says looking at Naruto, even though you have some surprises, your   
fighting style is predictable and you don't use moves to the fullest. You are  
the most hopeless of all. Naruto is shocked at the criticism. He then yells  
at the man, asking him who the heck he is. The man throws his head back and  
laughs sadistically, saying that he can't give his real name, so call him  
Capt. Soonaga. He then looks down on them and says welcome to hell for a   
week, 'cause I am going to make you all into fine ANBU. From now on, he says,  
don't assume you are safe, because I may randomly attack you during the day.  
Your bathrooms are off limits for me he says with a laugh and leaving  
everyone else with a disgusted look on their faces, but watch out at  
night, 'cause I might try to break in. Be alert!! He says that for the next  
week he will work with each of their weakness and make then strong. For now,   
Follow Me! We are going on a 20-mile run! And if you don't keep up you will  
do drills he says with a laugh. With that he takes off with the exasperated  
Genins following him.  
  
That is all!! Stay tune to 3.5 where the three ANBU trainees discuss the   
future of this and Naruto confronts the Captain.


	11. Chapter 3 sub 5

Chapter 3.5 - I'll get up, and never fall!  
  
The sun is beginning to set on the horizon. Looking at it for a minute, Naruto  
thinks back on all the hard training they had today. On the start of the run,   
everything was normal, until about 5 miles down Choji took out some food and  
started eating. This made Capt. Soonaga send out Shadow Clones, which then took  
the food, tossed it in the air, and destroyed it with a fire technique, and then  
stole every other bit of food from Choji. This shocked the others and then the   
clones whipped the others forward saying that there was nothing to see here  
and they should keep going. Later, after 5 more miles, Hinata started to fall  
back. Noticing, Naruto began to slow down to help, only to have more of  
Soonaga's Shadow Clones speed him forward at kunai-point, saying there was  
nothing to see with a laugh. This angered Naruto, who split into clones  
himself and then tried to get back to the others. Soonaga's Clones confronted   
him, and Naruto attacked with the Flying Sparrow technique, only to get knocked back by an angry Soonaga whose speed was at least four times his. Soonaga then made  
him do that technique for one hour, and then let him continue on his run.  
Naruto ached so much from doing the technique, however, that it took him a  
while to get back, and he found that he got back when the sun was starting to  
set and he was the last to get back. He was also angry with some of the other  
drills he had to do, including suicide tree jumping to avoid throwing  
knives, and using Shadow Replication to see about how many he could split  
into. He walks next to Choji and Hinata, who are both dead and out of energy,  
and collapses, panting. At this point, Capt. Soonaga laughs and says that  
they are the most dogged group he has had indeed and it is funny that they  
should be out of energy already. This angers Naruto, who gets up with a lot   
of struggling and declares that he may fall, but he will get up again and  
keep going. Naruto stares defiantly at the now surprised Soonaga. Choji,  
lying on the ground against a post, and Hinata, leaning on a post, start to  
think that the two will start fighting. Both stare at the other defiantly,  
then Capt Soonaga laughs and smiles, stating that at least this group has  
lots of determination, so they just might pull through his training. For   
that, he says, I hold all of you in the highest respect. The three Genins  
look at him surprised. He says that training is done for today and they  
should return at 6:00 tomorrow here to train some more. And watch out  
tonight, he says, 'cause someone might be trying to kill you, he says,  
grinning an evil grin. With that said, he vanishes.  
Naruto wavers for a moment, and then falls on the ground again. The others  
look concerned and Hinata asks if he is okay. Naruto struggles and sits up,  
saying that he is stinging all over, then asks what the captain made  
them do. Choji said that the captain and him did everything from arm wrestle  
to brute strength drills, and he is sore all over from pulled muscles. Hinata   
meekly that he made her do Taijutsu drills and...and... Naruto asks what. She  
then says that he could do Hyuga attacks like the 64-point technique. Naruto  
is shocked by this information, and recalls the times that the Captain copied  
his speed technique better than him. Choji looks depressed, and states that  
they can keep up with Jounnins, but the ANBU are on a whole different level,   
so how do they expect to keep up? Hinata looks saddened by this. Even Naruto  
looks depressed. Hinata looks at Naruto for some hope. Naruto, still looking  
down, states that this may be true, but still, I won't give in to him. The  
others look at him now, and Naruto's eyes flash with determination. Naruto  
then stands up slowly, and says that he would like to see that stuck-up  
captain on the ground beaten. But, I can't do it alone. He now lifts his head   
and looks at Choji and Hinata, smiling. He says together, we can make that  
man weep. He is strong and pushes us, but soon we will push back. Are you  
with me? Choji raises a fist and says yes!! Hinata smiles and says yes  
completely. With that, the three start to head back to the village. From a  
distance, Capt. Soonaga smiles, says to himself that this group might be the  
best he ever had, and vanishes, heading to the village.  
  
The Group heads back to the village the same way they came. They meet at an   
intersection and say goodbye there. Choji goes off towards his house, alertly  
munching on a bag of chips he had hidden in case Soonaga attacks him at night.  
Naruto is about to walk off, when he notices Hinata just standing there. He  
asks her if something is wrong? She stutters a bit, "um...um...um...Na..na..   
Naruto-kun?" she finally asks. Surprised, Naruto asks what's up. She stutters  
some more, and then finally asks if he would like to walk her home. He asks  
where she lives. She then says she lives near the Administrative Building in  
the government area near the Hokage Monument. He says that he lives in the  
exact opposite of that area and he really needs to get home (Hinata's face   
drops) but he'll walk her home since he considers her a very good friend  
(Hinata's face brightens at this). Also, he says flashing a mischievous grin,  
if Soonaga ambushes them, they have a better chance working together to fend  
him off. With that said, he wonders aloud how they should proceed. Hinata then  
asks if they go with the formation they did this morning. Naruto says that  
would be a good idea. With that, they head off towards the Hyuga household...  
  
End for now. In Chapter 3.6, each will have their nighttime conflict with  
Soonaga and Capt. Soonaga outlines their practice schedule for the week. Also,  
the three teams move out!!


	12. Chapter 3 sub 6

Chapter 3.6 – Murderer(s) in the night! I (We) will fight on!!

Choji is running as fast as he can home. In another part of town, Naruto and Hinata are running towards Hinata's House in the direction of the Admin Building. Choji prays that he doesn't run into Soonaga outside. Just as he gets in range of seeing his house, however, a bunch of black-cloaked men surround him landing in a circle 7 feet from him. There are 4 altogether. Choji fumes, and then tenses. Just as he does, 3 of the men fly at him. He catches one of them in the face with his elbow and when the other two grab him, he chokes one and breaks the arms of the other. They fall, revealing regular wolf masks, and vanish. Choji looks at the last man, who starts to laugh. He says in an eerie voice that he beat the three normal ones, but how about the strongest one? He pulls his hood back to reveal a fanged, snarling wolf mask. Choji is shocked, but tightens up and yells that he will not be humiliated anymore, Capt. Soonaga! Soonaga laughs and tells him to put his strength where his mouth is. They then lunge at each other and start to throw the other down like it was a sumo contest. Soonaga starts to laugh and asks Choji if he is really trying, and shocks Choji as he slams him on his back by the arm and jumps back. Choji weakly gets up and gets in a fighting position. He charges, only to get knocked out by Capt. Soonaga by a roundhouse kick to head. Choji flies back and lands into a fence in a cloud of dust. Soonaga laughs and says that Choji is not much, just like his father. Choji is shocked at this, and Soonaga goes on to say his father was a good friend of his who used to always give up easily. This makes Choji get up struggling, and he then tells Soonaga to shut it. Both tense up, and then Choji charges at Capt. Soonaga. While running, he concentrates all the Chakra he can to his left arm. Capt. Soonaga gets in a defensive test. When he is about 20 feet from him, he leaps in the air. He then yells "Comet Impact Technique!!" and slams his left fist forward which shines with Chakra. Capt. Soonaga puts his own hand forward to stop the impact. The Impact is so great that the clone vanishes and there is a small crater impact around the area that is left where Choji's fist impacted. In the spot where the Capt. was, there is a red wolf mask and a note. Choji picks up the note. The note says that his father used to be a weak person when younger, but he got fed up with it and tried his best after that to change. Now, he is part of a powerful trio of shinobi, the Aka-Yama-Nara trio. This mask was his. See me an hour before practice from now on and we will do extra training. Keep Training! –Capt. Soonaga. Picking up the mask, Choji walks home with new pride and determination to succeed. He runs into Shikamaru at that point and asks why he is hurrying. Shikamaru says he can't say and with that, knocks Choji out with Genjutsu and uses his shadow technique to make Choji head to his house. Silently, Shikamaru tells Choji to persevere and be himself. With that, he heads off to the North gate...

Hinata and Naruto get in seeing range of the Hyuga household. They slow to a walk. Hinata starts walking forward and thanks Naruto for escorting her home, smiling. He smiles back and starts to say your wel...but then a trap out of nowhere from the ground flings him into the air into the opposite direction. Hinata watches, shocked, as he flies away, then she gasps as a black figure flies at him and they start to fight in midair. She then stops as a black-cloaked man comes at her from behind and tries to hit her with a gentle fist strike. She dodges and they back off, facing the other. Hinata, frightened, asks if Capt. Soonaga has Hyuga blood. He laughs and says no, pulling back the hood and revealing a cuckoo mask. He then says that the cuckoo is the imitator, putting its own eggs in other bird's nests, thus fooling the parent bird to caring for the chick. He has trained to be able to release high amounts of chakra from his hands, and he has memorized all of the points on the body where chakra is emitted, so, he can do a few Gentle-Fist techniques. Hinata is amazed at this, and says that he is an incredible person. He says thank you and then gets into a fighting stance. Hinata, nervous, does the same. They tense up, and run at each other, exchanging gentle fist blows. He knocks her back and then lands a normal blow to the head with an extended palm strike. Hinata flies backward and falls on the ground headfirst facedown. She groans. Capt. Soonaga laughs, saying that she isn't much and no one really did have much faith in her. So, you don't have anything to look toward or someone to stand up to, huh? Hinata, sadly, thinks back to all the practices her father made her do, the stern rebukes he gave her, the loneliness of not living up to her family and the coldness that Neji, her cousin, gave her. Then, in the middle of this, she comes across a scene from when she was eight. She is gazing upon a kid with blonde hair who is arguing with the elders and grownups. They tell him he will come to nothing. He yells back that one day, he will show them all. He will become the Hokage one day, and he will have everyone then acknowledge him. Shocked, she realizes that this was the time she first saw Naruto and noticed his faith in himself, despite being completely alone. Time flashes forward to the point where Naruto is painting the Hokage monument and facing down everyone, confirming his faith in himself with such an act. "But I can, I'm incredible!" That line had somehow struck with her. She then goes to when she got put under Kurenai's leadership. Kurenai extends an invitation to come live with her since the Hyuga House doesn't seem to approve of her much. She said then that she would still live in her own house, but thanked Kurenai for her concern with a little smile. She then goes forward more to the times where her teammates helped her train and offered pointers and faith. Then, finally she goes back over her fight with Neji during the Chunnin Exam and the feelings she had gone through when Naruto cheered her on and all the concern everyone showed for her. At this point, all the memories come together and Hinata realizes that she is not alone, that there are teammates and friends who look after her and support her, and that she can do things. The present returns and she hears Soonaga ask if she is giving up already. He starts to walk away when she starts to get up and says that she is indeed something, and that there are others who think so. She says that she will not run anymore, thinking back on Naruto's words and what she said to Neji during the match. Soonaga turns, laughing, saying to prove it and charges. Hinata puts her head down and her arms out, goes into the Byakugan, and starts to concentrate. The air around her starts to vibrate, and Soonaga stops, surprised and wondering if she knows the Flying Sparrow Technique. Then, the nerves around her eyes start to travel along her entire face and body. Soonaga then realizes that this is the body's nerves growing and this is the Advanced Byakugan. He lunges forward and she suddenly vanishes. She stops behind him, gets into the 64 point technique stance, and charges at Soonaga, knowing that this time, it will be mastered. Soonaga turns just as the first strike hits him. She goes through the 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and then the 64 points completely. After the 64 points hit, the clone vanishes in a puff of smoke and Hinata falls to her knees, panting. She is happy that she finally mastered the 64-fist technique with no help from the family with the exception of Neji, who gave her some pointers. She thinks back to that time. He would have given more except she insisted on doing it herself. He had smiled and told her good luck. She thought then that this was his true self and had changed since the Chunnin Exam. Who or what had changed him she didn't know, but she would ask later. Coming back to the present, she recalled when she became conscious of the Advanced Byakugan in her mind and thought of everyone's determination and the friendship of those she knew. She looks around for Capt. Soonaga, only to find the bird mask and a note from where Capt. Soonaga was. She picks up the note, reading that this mask was one that was worn by a Hyuga in the ANBU throughout their family history. You have now surpassed your father when he was your age. Be proud! And always stick up for yourself and be a friend to all, and you will get far. During the middle of practice from now on, see me and we will train is some more gentle fist techniques. Also, I will find someone to train you in Advanced Byakugan techniques. So, rest well! –Capt. Soonaga. Hinata looks at the mask in wonder, looks up to the star-filled sky, and thanks everyone from her team, Kurenai, to Naruto for always being friends and having faith in her. From her house, she is unaware of her father watching from a window. He turns and walks away from the window, smiling to himself and thinking he will have to thank -------- later for his work. Or Capt. Soonaga, however that man calls himself. He then runs into Neji, who says that he is leaving on his mission with the Gai team, and then asks why Hiyashi-dono is smiling? He says no reason; it's just a good night. Hiyashi walks away. Neji is confused for a moment, then remembers his promise to meet the others at the East Gate and hurries off.

Naruto is shocked at getting flung into the air by a trap. Briefly he thinks back to the first day training with Kakashi when he got trapped and flung up into a tree. Darn! It's still like then, he thinks. He doesn't have much time to think on that, however, since he notices a black-cloaked man flying at him from below. He immediate pulls out some kunai's and they start fighting. They land in a street 25 feet apart, and look at each other. Naruto then yells at him that he has already started, huh?! Capt. Soonaga laughs, pulling back his hood and says that he taught Kakashi that trap technique. He turns out to have a fox mask on, and Naruto is stunned. Naruto then asks what he knows about himself. Soonaga laughs, stating that he knows more than he thinks, and rushes at Naruto while splitting into three shadow clones. Naruto concentrates, and goes into hurries into the Flying Sparrow Technique. Everything slows down around him as he attacks the clones. He knocks three out, and then the fourth suddenly starts to move as fast as him. He is shocked as this happens, yet goes to par the man's attack. They fly apart from the force of each knocking the other back. As that happens, the technique stops and all around of them speed up. Naruto, panting and hurting from his muscles, stares at Capt. Soonaga. Capt. Soonaga laughs and asks if Naruto fully knows the importance of the Flying Sparrow Technique. Naruto says no, and Capt. Soonaga says that this was a technique that was by his family, shocking Naruto with this news. There are more, he says, laughing. With that, a ball of light flies out of his hands after he does some hand seals. Naruto manages to dodge, but as he watches it, it hits a metal pipe and electricity runs up and down the pole. Capt. Soonaga says that that is another technique that was left behind. Naruto turns to him and asks if he knew family. Capt. Soonaga says no, but they did leave these techniques to the Third Hokage. So, he says, you may never fully know these techniques or your family. Naruto yells at him to shut up and runs at him. Just when his fist makes contact, he is thrown back by a force of electricity and falls on the ground, twitching. Capt. Soonaga laughs, saying that this technique is another, called the Lightening Wall. Naruto gets up swearing, and then splits into 3. The clones get in front in a straight line and they charge. Capt. Soonaga does the Lightening Wall Technique again, only this time Naruto, at the back, had been working on a Rasengan and made it contact with the Capt. when his clones got destroyed. The Rasengan hits, and Capt. Soonaga vanishes in a cloud of smoke. Naruto coughs, and then full of pride, and starts to dance and cheer that he won. In the spot where Captain Soonaga was, however, are a red fox mask and a note. The note says that tonight is Naruto's, but tomorrow, watch out. Also, meet with the Capt. after practice from now on and receive training in the techniques left by his family and in some taijutsu styles. Also, this mask was one from your family. Cheers! Capt. Soonaga. Naruto picks up the mask in wonder, and with it in hand, heads up to his apartment. Before he falls asleep, he wonders if the others are okay and if the other parties are doing okay. His head in thought, he falls asleep, missing the sound of Kakashi's party moving out, heading with all speed to the West Gate to head for their mission...

This is the end Chapter 3.6. In 3.7, we will see where the three teams are heading and how they moved out. Laughs, plots, and danger to come! See you this or next week!!

First, an apology to anyone who was expecting a quicker release. I had a English Essay, Spanish Exam practice, and test study thrown on me this weekend, so I really didn't get much accomplished. I am sorry and will try better. However, I did get a new MP3 player and the Outlaw Star box set, and I think that added to my work. 0

Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Thank you everyone.


	13. Chapter 3 sub 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I just write my own unofficial stories about the characters.

Chapter 3.7 – A new mission begins! Start the Journeys!

ANBU training day 2, while Naruto and gang are training, somewhere in another practice field:

Gai's team is out in a practice field practicing the Chameleon Technique, and frankly, everyone but Gai are partly worn out. Tenten was the first to learn the technique, at about 11:00 last night before Gai released them to rest up. In the morning, Akamaru learned the technique, resulting in Gai loudly praising the dog and getting exasperated looks from Neji and Kiba. At about 12, both of them finally got the technique down. With that, Gai let the team take a rest (Kiba and Neji fall in exhaustion and triumph from finally mastering the technique). With the technique being mastered, Gai dismisses them all and tells them to meet him here in the practice field tonight at seven. With that, he vanishes. Tenten joins the others and asks what now? Neji says he is unsure, but from Gai-sensei's urgency, they will probably leave tonight and head toward their destination first. Kiba is surprised that they are heading toward their targets already and says so. Neji then says that since their mission is to scout, it will probably not require them to get in too dangerous of situations. Whatever, says Kiba, as long as we get some kind of fight. Tenten then asks if they want to do anymore training. Both Neji and Kiba say no, they need to rest. Tenten frowns, then asks Akamaru if he wants to do some practice. Akamaru barks, and then uses the Human Bunshin Technique. Both take a fighting stance, and Neji and Kiba sit up, interested. They then charge at each other. Tenten launches an assortment of weapons, and Akamaru is forced to use the Piercing Fang technique. Tenten pulls out a bokotan and they hit simultaneously and land 10 feet apart. There is silence for a few minutes, and then Akamaru transforms back and whimpers in pain, while Tenten clutches her left arm where it was hit. It is bleeding slightly and Akamaru is down on the ground. This gets Neji and Kiba running toward them. Kiba holds Akamaru, checks him, declares he is okay, and tells Tenten that Akamaru found Tenten hard for a girl. Tenten confesses that she never thought she would have that much of a problem with a puppy. Neji then asks her if she is okay. She says yes, and then declares that that is enough for know. Neji asks if there is anything else they should do before they go. Kiba then suggests they go eat at a restaurant, since training was hard today. Akamaru seconds the idea with a bark. Tenten starts to disagree, but Neji says that that is a good idea since he is also hungry. This comes as a slight surprise to Tenten, who could never remember when Neji wanted to do stuff like this. When they started, she thought, his eyes were always cold and he kept to himself. Even with her and Lee, he could be cruel and arrogant, always relying on his faith in fate and his belief that everything was set in stone. This was shattered, she thinks, when he lost to Naruto. She didn't hear much of this from him, but from Gai-sensei, who got the conversation from Kakashi who got it from Sakura. After that, Neji no longer seemed cold, and even though he still mostly kept to himself, he didn't place himself above others, smiled more often, and even gave tips to people. His friendlier attitude toward his cousin must be proof of this; I should thank Naruto-kun later, Tenten thought. Neji, who asks them where they should go eat, interrupts her thoughts. Kiba says he heard of this place from the Akamichi's... They head to a restaurant famous for their beef-pot meals and steak (kind of like a Japanese steakhouse). They all sit at a table and wait for a waiter. Neji remarks that he had never been here before, so how do you know of this place, Kiba? Kiba causally remarks that he heard of this place from Choji, who comes here often. Tenten looks around and says she doesn't see any of the Akamichis or anyone they know for that matter. Neji guesses they are all training or on missions at this time. At this point, a red-faced waiter shows up. He is so red that Kiba asks if he is constipated. The man then points at Akamaru and remarks that since they are one of the finest restaurants, they will not allow dogs!! Akamaru transforms with the Human Bunshin Technique, and Neji, with his eyes closed and head down, asks if anyone said Akamaru was a dog. This gets the waiter pale-faced. Tenten remarks that they are just trying to have a nice dinner so please be quiet. Or, says Kiba growling, do you want to take it outside? The waiter is sweating at this point, says no, and takes their orders at that point. They all have a pleasant dinner laughing at the expense of the red-faced waiter, pay, and then leave the restaurant as the sun is setting. As soon as they get out on the street, Gai-sensei appears, breathing heavily. Tenten asks Gai sensei if something is wrong. He says that he has been trying to find them. He just got the order to move out from the Hokage and the council. They need to meet him at the East Gate in ten minutes. Kiba asks loudly why they weren't told this before, or otherwise they wouldn't have eaten so much?! Gai says that the council sped up the order, probably because something happened. So, he says, head to your houses, get anything you may need, and head to the East Gate, I will meet you there in ten minutes. Go!! With that, they vanish. At the East Gate ten minutes later, each of them arrive on time. Kiba packed extra solider pills and smoke bombs, Tenten weaponry, and Neji, explosion notes and extra shrunken. After a cursory inspection, Gai announces that they are to go and scout out land near the Sound/Cloud nation. After that, they will take a break to train until their next orders come. And also, we will be meeting up with another team on the way, so lets be courteous. Any Questions? They say no, and with that, they leave the village and head out into the night.

The same day, from Kurenai's House:

Kurenai and her team are practicing assortments of Genjutsu and Genjutsu reflection. All of them are doing well with the Genjutsu, yet Ino keeps having problems with Genjutsu deflection. At about around three o'clock, after about 8 straight hours of practice, Ino finally masters all of the Genjutsu deflection. With that done, Kurenai tells them to rest up and meet back here for six. With that, she vanishes. Shikamaru then turns to Ino and asks why it took so long for her to get the Genjutsu deflection down. Ino yells at him to shut up, saying that Genjutsu deflection was always her hardest area. Sakura looks at her, and then brags that that was always her best. This really pisses Ino off. Shikamaru sighs to himself, thinking this is completely stupid. Ino then yells at Sakura to shut up, or do you want to duke this out, huh?! Sakura is at first shocked, then leers at Ino, saying that she really wanted to beat her since the Chunnin Exam. Both get in a fighting stance and ignore Shikamaru who tells them to stop. They charge at each other. Before they land their first blow, however, they suddenly find themselves unable to move. Shikamaru had just used the Shadow Mimic Technique, and started to tell them to quit. Ino yells at him, asking him who does he think he is?! This gets Shikamaru pissed, and he suddenly yells at Ino to SHUT UP!! This gets both Sakura and Ino stunned quiet. He then goes on to say that they are about to go on a spying mission, a mission where they will have to blend in a work together. Disunity like this will only get us killed. And furthermore, he yells, I am above you in rank, so if I say to stop fighting, I mean it. He then releases them both from the Shadow Mimic, takes a deep breath, and then quietly tells them to not make him do that again. He then turns, tell them he will meet back with them at six, and walks away, hands in his pockets and whistling. Ino and Sakura are just stunned. Sakura asks what just happened out loud. Ino says she has no idea. The two stand there for a bit longer until Asuma happens to see them standing there. He calls out to them, and they snap out of their daze. He asks what's up, and Ino tells him shocked that Shikamaru just completely blew his head at them for fighting. Asuma looks surprised, then chuckles, telling them that he is finally glad that he did that, since he was beginning to think that Shikamaru would never show any emotion. Sakura asks him if he will do a mission soon. Asuma says yes; his mission will coincide with theirs, but how, he can't say. Actually, he says, he came to find Ino and anyone else to wish them good luck on their mission. Ino says thanks, and asks if he has seen Choji recently. Asuma says no, he can't find where the ANBU are training him. Both Sakura and Ino are shocked at this, and Ino asks how the hell Choji got to train under the ANBU. Asuma says he can't tell. He then gives them to free meal tickets at a beef house restaurant, and tells them to eat. He going to go see Shikamaru and see if he can get one more game of Shogi out of him. So, take care!! With that, Asuma leaves. Sakura looks at the ticket to find it is for one of the best beef houses in the Village. Sakura says they should go get a meal in before they go. Ino agrees, and with that they head out to the restaurant. Shikamaru, meanwhile, has just entered a Shogi parlor and sits in a chair. He sighs. He can never remember losing it like that, but man, he thinks, sometimes that Ino...His thoughts are interrupted when Asuma comes in and starts to look for Shikamaru. He calls out when he finds him, and Shikamaru is brought out of his thoughts. Asuma sits across from him at a table, and they start a game. The conversation between them goes nowhere until Asuma mentions he heard he finally blew up at Ino. Shikamaru looks surprised, and then says nothing. Asuma then laughs at that point, asking Shikamaru if he is this nervous about the upcoming mission. Shikamaru frowns, then smiles, and says yeah. I just can't stand being with that Sakura and Ino, since they fight all the time. It's a pain, he says with a sigh. Asuma agrees, but says that without him, a Chuunin and who he is, there would be no unity on the team. Also, you're the cleverest tactician and your shadow techniques will be extremely useful on that team. Shikamaru thinks all that over, thanks Asuma for the talk, and then calls checkmate. Asuma grumbles to himself that there were only ten moves. They play a few more rounds till about 5:30. Shikamaru heads back to Kurenai's house in much better spirits than when he left, and meets Sakura and Ino. They greet him, and he asks them what they did. Ino said they went to a restaurant and Sakura ate so much that she would start to look like Choji, and Sakura counters with a grin and saying she was inferior to Ino the Pig. This gets them quarreling again. Shikamaru laughs to himself and smiles. When they notice that he is smiling, they stop fighting and ask what's up. He says nothing at all. Kurenai comes at that point and says to gather any extra weapons or scrolls they need, along with money, and then head to the North Gate. Each return ten minutes later. When the genins get back, Shikamaru announces that he had just seen Choji. Ino is interested and asks what Choji was doing. He says nothing much, while Shikamaru silently thinks to the fight he just saw Choji in. Sakura then asks if he ran into anyone like Naruto or Sasuke. Shikamaru says no. At that moment Kurenai shows up, saying they are going to a city in the Fire Country to get training in mimicking people. After that, they will proceed to their target. With that, they hurry over the North Gate and move with all speed to the north.

The same day, in the forest around the village:

Sasuke, Lee, and Shino are all sitting by a lake. Sasuke is sitting in a tree, Lee is lying by the lake, and Shino is looking for bugs. They had just finished one-on-one combat training with Kakashi that had lasted from about 8 to 3. He was letting them take a break for now, and they were to meet at his place at 7 to move out. Sasuke scoffed out loud at the idea Kakashi would be on time. Lee and Shino ask him why. Sasuke dully remarks that Kakashi is usually late for everything, no exceptions. He then asks them what their sensei was like. Before anyone else answers, Lee declares that Gai sensei is super cool and the greatest. Shino asks if he makes them wear the green body suits. Lee says no. Sasuke mentions to Lee he might want to get something of a more neutral color on, because green might stand out where they are going. Lee still says no, and the others drop the subject. There is silence until Lee wonders out loud if they should get anything or train more. Shino says now would not be a good idea since they may be heading on a mission and straight to a fight. Sasuke speaks up, saying he would rather wait to see everyone's special moves later, it would be no fun now. They fall into silence again. Sasuke speaks up again by asking them if they want to go get some food, since there is nothing else for them to do. Lee asks where. Sasuke is quiet and then tells them of this place he knows about...The three arrive at the ramen booth where Naruto usually eat. Shino is surprised and asks if this is the place where Naruto always eats. Sasuke says it is, and then asks Shino how he knew that. He said he heard about it from Hinata. Lee then asks Sasuke why he chose this place. Sasuke just shrugged and said it was the only place for eating in town that he knew about. Also, they had once treated Kakashi to ramen here in order to see his true face. Lee asks to hear more of that story. Even Shino seems interested, but suggests that they sit down first and order. Sasuke orders a bowl of seafood, Shino some beef stew, and Lee took some teriyaki. All of them also order water. Sasuke begins to tell the tale of that time. While he is telling it, a man comes in the restaurant and orders some ramen and clear wine. His wine comes, but he only finishes half and then starts to eat. While listening, Lee randomly takes some water, but keeps his eyes on Sasuke. However, by complete accident, he takes the man's wine cup and drinks, puts it down, and starts to sway. The man notices that Lee has drunken some of his wine and stands up and starts yelling at Lee. This makes Sasuke stop the story and cause him and Shino to look at the scene unfolding in front of them. The man reaches out to punch Lee from behind, but quick as water, Lee moves, grabs the man, and throws him out of the restaurant, and immediately jumps out. Sasuke senses he is going to hurt the man, and immediately he leaves the restaurant and manages to block Lee's attack. Shino comes hurrying after him. Lee is now using drunken boxing on Sasuke, and even though Sasuke is able to block it thanks to the Sharingan, he is starting to tire, since Lee's swings and fighting style is becoming more unpredictable. Sasuke is suddenly knocked back by a kick to the chest by Lee. Lee then drunkenly flies at Sasuke, but suddenly stops when bugs from Shino drain him of most of his chakra. Lee collapses and is unconscious. Sasuke is breathing hard and wincing slightly from where Lee kicked him. He says it's impossible, but it seemed to him like Lee was drunk. Shino says that the fighting style that Lee was using resembles drunken boxing, but when did he learn that? The man from the restaurant speaks up at that time, saying that he accidentally took some of his wine for water. Shino is surprised by that news, and remarks that this must have been something that Lee was working on. Sasuke is still shocked by the sheer force and speed of Lee at that time. Lee wakes up at this time. He touches his head and asks if he was drunk again. Sasuke is freaked that Lee said again. Shino asks him if he is feeling okay. He said he is fine, so, why don't they all go eat now, since the female worker from the restaurant called out that their food is ready. She stops them before they sit though, begging them not to cause any more trouble. They agree, on the condition Lee sits away from the man. They are halfway through their meals when Kakashi comes in sits down next to them. He greets them and then immerses himself in a book. Lee asks him what book that is, and when Sasuke glances at the cover, he starts to sweat and is immediately fully interested in his food, gobbles it down quickly, and rushes out as Kakashi starts to explain the plot. He waits outside for a minute before he hears Lee and Shino rushing out, each look very nauseated. Kakashi follows them out a few seconds later, saying they forgot to pay. He paid since it was a mission with him, and also, we will leave now at 7, so get things you need and be at my house for 6:45. With that, he vanishes. Lee and Shino look at Sasuke with horrified looks and ask how he puts up with a sensei that reads such horrible things. Sasuke says it is just something that is unspoken. Lee then asks him if Sakura has ever been in danger, earning him a disgusted look by Shino and Sasuke, and Sasuke tells him that something like that has never happened to his knowledge. They all shudder in unison. Shino interrupts them by saying it is 6:30, so they need to go and collect equipment for their mission. Each split ways and end up back at Kakashi's house for 6:45. Unfortunately, Kakashi is nowhere to be seen. Sasuke says that this is no surprise, though he should be here soon. True to his word, Kakashi arrives at 7:00, with his head in the latest volume of Come Come Paradise. Kakashi greets them, saying he was having a literary discussion with a famous author. This makes the three look sick, but then Kakashi throws the book away and gets serious. He tells them they are heading for a special place near the border with the Rock Nation to train, and when their orders come in, they will move out. So, let's go! They all take to the roofs of the houses and head for the West Gate. On their way, however, a black-cloaked man intercepts them, and they land on a roof. The Genins take a fighting stance, but Kakashi is completely relaxed, asking the man what's up? The man lowers his hood to reveal a red snarling wolf mask, and says that he wants to wish them luck. Thanks, Mad Dog Soonaga, says Kakashi. Good luck Sharingan Kakashi, says Soonaga, and with that, he vanishes. The others asks who he is. Kakashi says that that man is a famous and very strong ANBU captain. Well, he says, we must continue. They enter the forest and head out toward the edge of the nation of Fire.

End of Chapter 3.7. In the next chapter, Gai's team reaches it target, and the other teams reach their training areas. For those wondering what will happen to Naruto and company, that will come by 3.10. Thank you for reading!!

I am sorry for not updating in a while. College does eat a lot of your time. Add two essays to that, one in English and the other in Spanish, and time seems to slip away. Anyway, I humbly thank you for your patience and wish everyone a happy week. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and I promise you all I will try to get the next one in on time. Well, have a great week!


	14. Chapter 3 sub 8

Chapter 3.8 – Unfamiliar Territory and Training Areas

Gai's Group:

Gai's SUPER RECONAISSANCE TEAM!!! is currently traveling through a forest toward the east. Why? Gai announced it himself to the team. The team sighs in exasperation. Right now, it is about Day 4 of the ANBU training for Naruto and gang, so it is Day 2 for the Gai expedition. They are traveling, when suddenly Gai tells them to stop. They do. The group asks what's up, and Gai tells them to sense ahead of them. They do. No one feels a thing, until Kiba announces that he can smell 3 people heading their way. Immediately, they get under onto the forest floor. They get on the forest floor and start to run when a group of sound nins ambush them and unleash a series of weapons that the group blocks. They get caught with a giant log that they can't avoid. The sound nins are triumphant, but when the log hits Gai's team, they vanish. The Sound Nins are stunned, and they release that a Kage Bunshin tricked them when Tenten, Neji, Akamaru, and Kiba knock them all out from behind. Gai appears with two of them over his shoulders and tells his team great job. Tenten looks at her sensei and tells him good job with the Kage Bunshin for the group. Kiba asks what they should do. Gai suggests that Neji seal their chakra openings and Tenten set up a series of traps to keep them from escaping and others getting to them. This is done, and ten minutes later the Sound Nins are in a metal cage and the group is at least 50 meters away from them. Tenten says that on all sides there are at least twenty different traps. Kiba is stunned at the progress that Neji and Tenten did. Gai tells his team good work. Tenten states that they didn't even use any of their equipment to set the traps, all of the weapons and tools belonged to the Sound Nins. Kiba is slightly said for not being able to do much, and Neji, noticing this, tells Kiba that he did a good job knocking them out with them and they do need him. Akamaru barks. Kiba shakes his head and gets over his depression with a laugh, asking he they should move on now. They all agree, and they jump up into the branches and continue on. As they travel, Neji states that he is surprised that the Sound is already starting to move into the Fire Country. Kiba states that it is probably because of Orochimaru. He has already lost his four elite and his attempt to get Sasuke has failed. Also, the Sound will probably want revenge for losing to the Leaf in the last war. Tenten asks what Orochimaru might be planning and with who. Gai answers that that is what they are going to find out. They travel on and by nightfall they reach the border between the Sound and Cloud Countries. They arrive in a small town and head into a back alley. Gai suggests they head for an inn, but before they enter, they remove any sign that they might from the Fire Country (headbands, marks, clothes). They take clothes out of their packs and throw them on over their own. The end result is interesting. Tenten looks like a boy in a cap, Neji, a suit wearing sunglasses-over-the-eyes gentleman, Kiba looks like a regular kid with a dog, having of taken off his jacket, and Gai looks like a serial killer with a trench coat over his green workout suit and a fedora hat on. The Genins sweat at Gai-sensei's disguise. Neji asks what is the point of disguises if Gai-sensei looks like a killer? Gai answers quietly that this is all he could get, so, he says, lets go get our rooms! They head into the inn, with Tenten wondering if all will be okay and Kiba thinking they are all dead. Gai gives the innkeeper a name, and the innkeeper gives them a room key. As they head to the stairs, Akamaru whimpers, and Kiba is shocked. On the stairs, Neji and Tenten ask Kiba what Akamaru was whimpering about. Kiba says he didn't notice at first, but the innkeeper has no scent, as if nobody was really there. The others are shocked at this news, and Neji asks if the enemy is already aware of them. Kiba says he is not sure, but lets be ready in case we are attacked. Gai, who paid no attention to the Genins, announces that they are at their room, and whistling, goes to unlock the door. The Genins get in a fighting stance, but drop it when they hear a familiar voice tell them they are late with a laugh. Gai laughs and answers that they ran into some trouble. The Genins look around Gai and see Kankuro and two Sound Chunnins, one girl and one guy. Kiba then asks Kankuro if that man at the front desk is Karasu. Kankuro asks how he knew. Kiba states that Karasu didn't smell. The Sand Shinobis laugh. Kankuro introduces the Chunnins. The guy is Hyde, and he has the ability of seeing far away. Kiba and Neji notice the guy's eyes, which almost look like a hawk's, though his eyes are also seem as if they are constantly laughing. The girl is Satari, and she has the ability to telepathically communicate with any creature including people. The Genins are impressed, yet Neji freaks out when he hears her voice in his head. He falls on the ground and clutches his head. The others are concerned about him, until he gets back up and laughs, saying that that is the weirdest thing he ever experienced. When he fell, however, his glasses fell off, revealing his eyes and stunning the Chunnins. Kankuro then explains that he is Hyuga, which they then understand why his eyes are white. Gai then introduces the rest, starting with himself by throwing off the coat, getting in the nice guy pose, and introduce himself as the prideful green beast of the leaf with a smile. This makes all the others sweat in exasperation. He moves on to Tenten, who takes off the clothes over her own and discards the cap, shocking the Sand Nins who swore out load that they thought she was a guy. This silently pisses Tenten off while Neji and Kiba silently laugh. He introduces Kiba next, who rips off his disguise, and then removes a genjutsu around him that changed his appearance, revealing his large white coat, clawed hands, and dog-like eyes. Akamaru barks, and Gai introduces him after an apology to Akamaru. The Chunnins look at him, wondering if he is anything like Gaara. Gai, finished with the introductions, pulls out a map and asks the Sand Shinobis if they have found out anything between the Cloud and the Sound. This snaps the Chunnins out of their thoughts, and Hyde answers that there has been some heavy mining at the border and the products are heading to both the Sound and Cloud villages, where they have no clue what is going on. Gai thanks them, saying that they'll start to lay a plan out to go scout out the outskirts of the villages. For now, he says, lets scout out the town for information. Tenten wonders if that is wise since this village is in Sound territory. Satari states that it is okay since this is a neutral town. Neji asks what she means by that. Kankuro states that this town sides neither with the Hidden Sound Village or Symphonia City, the government city of the Sound Country. Kiba says he heard of discord between the the city and the village that started when Orochimaru failed to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Hyde agrees, saying Orochimaru has not been able to launch any new attacks since his arms were damaged and the government of the Sound Country refused to support any ideas of Orochimaru. Recently, however, Orochimaru has been getting backing from somewhere within the Sky Country, and they need to try to find where. So, we need to start making plans to scout the land. They end up working late into the night and go to morning. By the middle of the night, a plan has been worked out. Neji and Hyde will head to the Northwestern border and scout out the area. Satari and Kiba will scout out the outskirts of the Hidden Sound village with the help of different animals. The rest will scout out the neutral cities for the same time. At the end, they agreed to meet back at the inn in this town. At sunrise, they move out…

Kurenai's Group:

It is day 2 for Kurenai's group, and they are heading north toward a city near the border with the Stone Country. As they head for there, they talk. Sakura wonders why the Sound Country hasn't tried anything yet. Kurenai explains that before Orochimaru came, the Sound Nation was disunified and always had civil wars between the cities for power. When Orochimaru came, a city known as Symphonia City had claimed power. He negotiated with them and they began to build the Hidden Sound Village in the Western Part of the Sound Nation, while Symphonia City consolidated itself on the coast in the East. Eventually, the Hidden Sound Village was complete, and Symphonia had secured permanent power as the seat of government for the Sound Nation. This was all about 13 years ago, said Kurenai. People in the Sound Country then viewed Orochimaru as a savior for unifying the country, and when they took a smaller country to the North on the Cloud country border 10 years ago, they really rallied around the Sannin who came to their country and their government, who gave the village all of its funds and clients while the village gave the government it's power. Shikamaru asks if this is still the case in the Sound Country. Not anymore, says Kurenai. With being handed defeat by the Leaf Country and especially after hearing the Best Genins in the Sound were needlessly sacrificed by Orochimaru, the situation in the Country is now tense. The Government has cut off most funding and clients to the Sound Village, and the Sound Village refuses to comply as defensive forces for the government. They still exchange communications and recognize the other, but they pretty much hate each other now, staying together only because both recognize the other as necessary. The Village was forced to admit that the Government must be there for order, and the Government was forced to admit that the Village is there for military protection. Besides that, however, they hate and spite each other. Sakura then asks that since they hate each other, is it still safe to go in the country. Kurenai says it is okay, since there is a zone of neutral cities that are part of the Sound Nation, but do not side with the government's view or the Hidden Sound Village's view. These villages act as a buffer between the two forces. Kurenai stops talking when she suddenly stops and the others follow suit. Kurenai tells them to look ahead of them. They look, and down in a valley they see the city. Kurenai then throws a pack at them and tells them to throw clothing in the pack on over their own. They do so and the end result is interesting. Shikamaru has his back hair down, giving him a punk look. His usual short black shirt is hidden under a large dark blue one. His long black shorts were replaced by baggy denim pants. He still had his sandals on, but the biggest difference was that he had a short knit cap over his head, completing the look. Sakura and Ino were both dressed up in clothes and hairstyles of martial artists. Kurenai was a shocker, however, since she changed her appearance to where she looked like Tenten. The Genins were impressed by this. Shikamaru then asked how come he looks like a punk. Kurenai then said it was for his first assignment. He must go to the dark alley area of the city and gather as much information as possible. She gives him a map and marks the area he needs to go. She also gives him a list of people, where they are, and what their codephrases are to memorize. She tells him not to lose that. In two hours, Kurenai goes on, head to the inn here, she says circling an area. Shikamaru sighs, but wishes the others luck, states he will do his best, and heads off. Kurenai then starts to explain the others assignment…

End of Chapter 3.8. In 3.9, Kurenai will tell of Sakura and Ino's Mission. And what about Kakashi's group? All that and more. See everyone next week.

Ugh. I am so overwhelmed with school it is sick so the chapter was cut short. I promise to make it up to everyone next time. The thing is I just got a wireless network set up throughout the house, and have been playing with it for a bit. Heh. Sorry. For anyone wondering on couples, the only ones so far are NarutoHinata and ShikamaruTemari. If anyone has any suggestion please let me know. No yaoi couples please. Thank you.


	15. Chapter 3 sub 9

Chapter 3.9 – Contacts and Fights Extraordinaire

Quick Synopsis:  
This story takes place in a different path from after Naruto and Sasuke fight in the Valley of the End. Sasuke actually goes back with Naruto and both reclaim their friendship in the hospital after spending some days knocked out. After that, all the Genin teams are split up into different teams to carry out missions for one grand mission: The Defeat of Orochimaru. Gai has Tenten, Neji, and Kiba. Kurenai has Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura. Kakashi has Sasuke, Lee, and Shino. Naruto, Hinata, and Choji have been taken under the command of the ANBU and they are being trained by a mysterious man known as Capt. Soonaga. This chapter picks up after Shikamaru splits from his group in a border town to collect information on the order of Kurenai:

Kurenai's Group:

As they watch Shikamaru leave, Sakura and Ino ask Kurenai what their mission is. Kurenai then hands them some identification papers. They look them over. They notice something odd.

"What are we suppose to be?" asks Sakura.

"That's simple," states Kurenai. "Both of you are guards for an ambassador from the Silk Country.

"Really?" asks Ino. Sakura then gets what Kurenai is talking about.

"Kurenai-sensei, are you the ambassador from the Silk Country?"

"Yes, Sakura, I am. We will also need to get lodging and talk with the mayor of the city to negotiate "trade" while Shikamaru gathers information. Also, the three of us will try to find and extract information from enemy spies that we have learned are in this country, so, let us get going!"

They enter town in a dignified way. As they walk down the street, Sakura and Ino announce out that an ambassador from the Silk Country has arrived. Many people look at them and pay respects.

While they are walking, one man tries to come close to them just to touch them. He has a odd look in the eye, but both Sakura and Ino send him flying yelling.

"Do not touch the ambassador, pervert!"

"Shina Karai (Sakura)!" yells Kurenai. "And Setori Aaya (Ino) respect your spots and not to cause trouble!" They fall back on either side of Kurenai.

"Yes Ambassador!" they yell.

They continue to an inn with stoic looks on their faces. As they walk away, they are unaware of three cloaked people watching them with interest. One of them says that "their" here, so let's follow. Meanwhile, Kurenai and her "guards" have arrived at an inn. The innkeeper is shocked that an ambassador has arrived, and asks how he may be of service.

Kurenai speaks up. "I am Ambassador Madoka of the Silk Nation, and I need a room to fit myself and my guards for a bit. We will be staying for a week, and we also like a regular room."

Kurenai then dumps some gold on the table. The man gives them some keys plus spares. The group goes to leave, but Kurenai stops. Her guards stop too. Kurenai then talks to the innkeeper in a menacing voice.

"Do not to let anyone know that we are here. If you does, I will unleash my guards on you. They are young, but they can crush rock and bones with ease."

The man starts to sweat when all three of them give him evil looks. They then take some stairs up to their room. While they are going up, they start to talk.

"Ambassador Madoka," asks "Karai". "How long will we keep this up?"

"For about a week or a little longer Karai"

"Well," says "Aaya". "This is already getting fun!"

Laughing, "Karai" agrees.

As they reach their door, however, all three are surprised to find three cloaked people in front of their door with shining eyes. Sakura and Ino get into fighting stances, while Kurenai just calmly stands there. One of the figures then speaks out. "Ambassador Madoka', you are here at last." Sakura and Ino are surprised that the voice is that of a girl and they could swear that they have heard it before.

"Well," says Kurenai," We are glad that you are here. How are you doing, Temari?"

Both Ino and Sakura are shocked as all of the cloaked people throw their cloaks and some sand goggles off, revealing Temari and two other people. Then everyone says hi.

"Let's go in our room to discuss things," Kurenai suggests.

They open the door to reveal a room with 4 beds and 3 coaches.

"Wow, is this really a standard room?" Ino wondered with awe.

Temari laughed. "There is only the best for the ambassador of the Silk Country."

She then introduces her two companions, both chunnins, one of them a guy and the other and the other a girl. The girls name is Kira, and she bows slightly. She has an ability to shapeshift. Temari then introduces the guy. His name is Hatari, and he specializes in blending in to surroundings and impersonating anyone. He gives a smile.

Kurenai then introduces herself. She introduces Ino next (Aaya) and Ino explains her families abilities. The Chunnins are impressed. Ino introduced Sakura (Karai) next, and goes on to explain that she is the genjutsu expert of the group. Sakura blushes slightly and tells "Aaya" to stop embarrassing her. Ino answers that she doesn't have a big forehead for nothing. This gets the two of them bickering.

"Is anyone else with you?" Temari asks, slightly sweat dropping at Ino and Sakura's feud.

"Shikamaru is with us. Right now, he is currently information gathering in the back alleys of the town," Kurenai answered slightly put off by Ino and Sakura's bickering.

"_He_'s here?" Temari thought to herself. She grinned inwardly. "Excellent!"

Suddenly, someone knocks on the door. They open it to find Shikamaru completely worn out and panting. Sakura and Ino ask if he ran all the way here.

"No," says Shikamaru. "I just had to deal with a Sound Spy I found. Also, I managed to get information from that spy of about 6 other spies from both the Sound and Cloud nations that will meet to exchange information in 7 days."

He then staggered into the room, and the others are horrified at his torn clothes.

"What happened?" Temari nearly yells out in concern.

Shikamaru then notices Temari and the Sand nins, grins at them, says hi, and then goes on to explain the fight.

"The Sound Nin used lots of Sound Waves to cut things, and I only just managed to dispose of him with a new technique I learned."

He then pulls out the Nin's clothing and headband.

"Kurenai-sensei, is it okay if I take the place of the Sound Nin while keeping up my street lookout?" Shikamaru asked.

"You will need some backup," Kurenai says "And Sakura and Ino already have fulltime roles to handle."

Temari talks with Kira and Hatari, and they agree that they will be Shikamaru's backup. Hatari says they have a week. Kira says that they will watch Shikamaru's back very closely.

"I also have some contacts on the street," saysTemari "Me and Shikamaru can watch them as well."

The Sand Shinobi look at him, and ask him if this is fine. He says with a grin that this will be kinda fun.

"What will you and the others do for one week Kurenai-sensei?" asks Shikamaru.

"We will continue the fake negotiations in order to get information from the mayor."

"Then," says Shikamaru "everyone good luck."

They all agree and get to work...

Kakashi's Group – Day 2; Day 4 of Naruto's ANBU Training

Kakashi's group is currently headed west to a spot between the border of the Rock and Leaf Nations. No one really did talk much, except when someone asked questions about the political affairs and the current state of the Sound nation. Kakashi explained to them the things that Kurenai explained to her team. They fell silent until Sasuke asked something that had been nagging him for a bit.

"Kakashi, how and where did you know that guy that met us the night we left?"

Shino and Lee looked up, apparently interested in what Kakashi had to say.

"That man is a very famous ANBU captain and one of the strongest three in history. Me, him, and Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi explained. "He goes by the name of Mad Dog Soonaga' being that Soonaga was always a nickname for him and he fights like a Mad Dog in combat and goes down as quickly as one."

Sasuke goes silent. Kakashi notices and just smiles.

"Hey Sasuke!" he said. "If you are worried about getting less training than Naruto, don't worry. He was my rival in the ANBU and we always fought to outdo the other. I have arranged with the Hokage to have us meet with another team and train in one of the most hostile environments possible."

All three Genins are apparently quite interested in this and ask Kakashi who the other team may be. Kakashi, however, remains silent as does not say anything, except to expect a surprise and some old faces.

"What sort of old faces?" asks Shino.

"Well," says Kakashi, "You will probably recognize them as soon as we get there. For all of you, and especially Lee and Sasuke, they are people that you have seen very recently."

All of the Genins are silent, pondering who Kakashi might be talking about.

"Hmm. Who have a seen recently?" thought Sasuke. "It couldn't be the Sound's Four since their dead nor could it be a Leaf team since they are all out on missions..."

"Seen recently, huh," thought Lee. "I bet they are strong! Think of me Gai-sensei, I will try my hardest!"

"Seen recently?" thought Shino. "He can't mean..."

"Ahhh!" Kakashi shouted, interrupting the thoughts of the Genins. "We are at our place of training!" The three Genins look ahead of them. In the distance there is a series of plateaus, and they seem to be heading right for an unusually large one. They wonder out loud what that place is.

"That plateau range up ahead is known as Leaf Highlands, and that particular plateau we are heading to is called the Plateau of Trail, Mt. Koltz." explained Kakashi. "The Plateau is about 5,000 feet high, and there is a 100 foot deep valley in the top of it complete with a hidden forest. There we will meet the other team and train in one of the most air-dense environments and also in one of the least air-dense environments. This training is to help with stamina, which will be essential when we head to take on the enemy." At this time, they arrive at the base of the plateau and find a really narrow trail. Kakashi takes a rope out of his pack about 20 feet long. "Here, we will tie this rope around us since this trail is extremely treacherous and narrow." The Genins tie the rope around themselves and with Kakashi in the lead, they begin to travel up the mountain. After about two hours of hard hiking, they reach the top and step down on to a plain slightly lower than the top of the mountain and look down into a valley that is covered in thick forest.

"Wow!!" says Lee.

Sasuke whistles in awe, and even Shino is impressed by raising his eyebrows a little.

"In the Jungle part," says Kakashi, "the humidity is so thick it feels like your breathing clouds. The moisture is so thick it does not affect the raised up area, here, where the air is so dry and thin that it hurts to breathe. In these two environments we will train for a week."

"Where is the other team?" asks Sasuke.

"They should be here...ahh! There they are!" exclaimed Kakashi.

The Genins looked around. They didn't see anyone and couldn't feel a thing. All they could feel was a slight wind that seemed to have picked up from nowhere. Dust kicks up from the raised up area where they are standing. As soon as it picks up, however, it stops and starts to settle. The Genins look around, hearing nothing but footsteps now. Suddenly, three figures right ahead of them come into view, their shapes only just discernable in the dust. The figures stop. For the next few seconds, no one moved. Then, a voice from the figures calls out.

"Hatake Kakashi, it has been awhile"

The dust is still settling as Kakashi grins.

"Yeah, it has been a bit of awhile. How are you, Baki?"

As soon as Kakashi finishes speaking, the dust settles to reveal Baki, Gaara, and a Sand Chunnin. The Genins are shocked to see them, but relax somewhat at what Baki said next.

"Alright, I suppose. I can see we are all going to get a good workout. You all know Gaara I suppose. The other one with us Hideyori, a Ninjutsu/Taijutsu expert. He is also good at tracking, since he was the one who found the body of the Kazekage after that incident."

"Hey," says Kakashi. "No hard feelings about that incident. Can I talk to you privately about something..."

As Baki and Kakashi talk, Gaara and Hideyori go and talk to the Genins. Sasuke and Shino are both nearly scared to death at seeing Gaara, but Lee, with no fear on his face and grinning, walks forward to greet the Sand Nins.

"Gaara, it has been awhile! How have you been?"

"Rock Lee..." Gaara says without any emotion or expression. Then, a grin goes on his face. "I have been much better than I have been in a while. This is Hideyori. He is a Ninjutsu/Taijutsu user who is probably a close match to you."

"Him?" asks Hideyori.

"He is the first person to actually land a blow on me," replied Gaara.

Hideyori was impressed with this, and he and Lee start talking till Gaara interupts them.

"I remember Uchiha Sasuke, and Sasuke, you seem to be doing much better, but I have not seen you before" he said look at Shino in a curious way.

By now, both Sasuke and Shino have relaxed a little after seeing how relaxed Lee was around Gaara. Shino then speaks up.

"My name is Shino. You seem a bit different from when we first saw you in the Chunnin Exams, but that is no matter."

"It is no big deal. It was just someone showed me how to really be strong." At this point Gaara walks up to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke. I hope your doing alright."

"Yeah. Yeah, I am doing alright." replied Sasuke. "How are things with you?"

"They are okay. I am surprised that Uzumaki Naruto is not here."

"He has another mission right now," replied Sasuke, thinking about the masked ANBU, Kakashi's announcements, and Naruto's shocked face when he got his new training team. He grinned inwardly at that last part. At this point, Kakashi called out to them.

"Hey everyone! Gather around!" shouted Kakashi. When they did, he continued in a normal voice. "Based on the information Baki here and I exchanged, we will not need to head to our target for a week, so we have lots of time to train. We will start in the mornings from now on fighting in the forest, hit lunch, and in the afternoon train on the raised part of this valley; here. Periodically, we may have information come to us in the form of birds, so remember to keep a lookout. Baki and I will train together, and the you all can switch people different days." Baki speaks up at this point.

"Hideyori, from what Kakashi has told me about his team, after you fight each of them, train as much as possible with Shino and Lee. They can learn some Taijutsu styles from you and you could learn some from them. Gaara, I'm sure neither you or Sasuke would mind fighting the other in Taijutsu/Ninjutsu battles?"

Gaara looks at Sasuke with a grin. "Would you like to pick up were we left off at a later time?"

Sasuke grins at him. "Sure!"

Kakashi smiles at this point. "Well, that's everything. Since it's afternoon, let's start on the raised area here."

They each face the perspective opponent and take a fighting stance. They all trained and fought till the sun set...

End of Chapter 3.9. In Chapter 3.10, Naruto and his teammates are formally inducted as members of the ANBU. But to do that, each must confess one of their deepest secrets or pains. Can they survive? There will be some Naruto/Hinata interaction and the Kyubi will appear. Secrets, Shockers, and Stories all coming soon. Thank you. Come back for Chapter 3.10 – Induction, the Hardest part of ANBU Training!

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There are a few things I would like to point out:  
1. I have been getting complaints about the format of the stories. I have started working on rewritting them into a more reader-friendly format such as the above chapter. They should be done by Christmas.  
2. I don't mind complaints, but do not just outright insult me. It gives me no actual help in the story and the writting. How would you like it if you got reviews where people just insulted you?  
3. I need some ideas on pairings other than Naruto/Hinata and Shikamaru/Temari.

The above being said, for anyone with an ounce of patience for me, I thank you. I promise I will revise the chapters in the past. Thank you everyone and Happy Halloween. Don't forget to go and vote on November 2 for those of you who can!!


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